Life Expectancy: Stride
by Breaking Barriers
Summary: Her bubbly laugh, her sweet smile, the way she grins when she runs, the way her eyes look when she pouts, her determination in everything she does. These are the things that made me fall in love with her, these are the things that made me look past her disabilities, and these are the things that made me question why she won't let me close to her.
1. Prologue: Clean Slate

**Hello all, this is Breaking Barriers here. I was involved with the scripting of a small project, and it recently brought the birth of this story. The plot is taken straight from the project I was working on, so there's nothing I have to disclaim, since I own some of it. I'd be pretty surprised if you knew what this project is, but nevertheless, I have changed the character's names, cut some things out, added a few things in, and made a few thematic changes as well. So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy the first installment to my new story, Life Expectancy: Stride.**

A light breeze causes the snow covered branches overhead to rattle like wooden wind chimes. This is a popular retreat for couples in the summer. The deciduous trees provide a beautiful green canopy, far out of sight of teachers and fellow students. But now, in late winter, it feels like I'm standing under a pile of kindling. I breathe into my cupped hands and rub them together furiously to prevent them from numbing in this cold.

"Just how long am I expected to wait out here, anyways? I'm sure the note said 4:00 P.M." I asked myself, not expecting an answer.

Ah yes… the note… slipped between the pages of my math book while I wasn't looking. As far as clichés go, I'm more of a fan of the letter-in-the-locker, but at least this way shows a bit of initiative. As I ponder the meaning of the note, the snowfall gradually thickens. The snowflakes silently falling from the white-painted sky are the only sign of time passing in this stagnant world. Their slow descent upon the frozen forest makes it seem like time has slowed to a crawl The rustling of dry snow underfoot startles me, interrupting the quiet mood. Someone is approaching me from behind.

"So… Sora? You came?" A shivering voice asks from behind me. A hesitating, barely audible question. However, I recognize the owner of that dainty voice instantly. I feel my heart skip a beat. It's a voice I've listened to hundreds of times, but never as more than an eavesdropper to a conversation. I turn to face this voice, the voice of my dreams, and my heart begins to race…

"Sh… Shiki? I got a note telling me to wait here… was it yours?" Damn. I spent all afternoon trying to come up with a good line and that was the result.

I'm so pathetic.

"Ahmm… yes. I asked a friend to give you that note… I'm so glad you got it." Her quiet and shy reply is completely out of character to my understanding. Shiki Misaki was normally a hyper person, very likable and _very_ popular. As I ponder her change of attitude, a shy, joyous smile grabs my attention. It makes me so tense I couldn't move a single muscle even if I tried.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

My heart is pounding now, as if it were trying to burst out from my chest and claim this girl for itself.

"So… ah… here we are. Out in the cold…" I state awkwardly.

Once again, the wind stirs up the branches. The cacophonous noise is music to my ears. Shiki flinches ever so softly against the gust of wind. As it passes, she rights herself, as if supported by some new confidence. Her eyes lock with mine and she lazily twirls her long, dark hair around her finger. All the while, the anxious beating of my heart grows louder. My throat is tight; I doubt I could even force a word out if I tried.

"You see…" She starts quietly.

**Bum Bum. **

"… I wanted to know…"

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

"… if you'd go out with me…"

I stand there, motionless, save for my pounding heart. I want to say something in reply, but my vocal cords feel like they've been stretched beyond the breaking point.

"… Sora?" She asks with a voice mixed with hope and fear. I reach up to try to massage my throat, but this only sends spikes of blinding pain along my arms.

"Sora?" She asks, with a tone of urgency. My whole body freezes, save for my eyes, which shoot open in terror.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

"SORA!" The beating in my chest suddenly stops, and I go weak at the knees. The world around me, the canopy of bare branches, the dull winter sky, Shiki running towards me, all these fade to black. The last things I remember before slipping away are the sounds of Shiki screaming for help and the incessant clatter of the branches above…

It's been four months since my heart attack.

In that whole time, I can probably count the times I've left this hospital room unsupervised on one hand. Four months is a pretty long time when you're left alone with your thoughts. So, I've had plenty of time to come to terms with my situation.

Arrhythmia.

A strange word.A foreign, alien that you don't want to be in the same room with.A rare condition. I causes the heart to act erratically and occasionally beat way too fast. It can be fatal. Apparently, I've had it for a long time. They said it was a miracle that I was able to go on so long without anything happening. Is that really a miracle? I guess it was supposed to make me fell better, more appreciative of my life.

It really didn't do anything to cheer me up.

My parents, I think, were hit harder by the news than I was. They practically had two hemorrhages apiece. I had already had a full day by then to digest everything. To them, it was all fresh. They were even willing to sell our house in order to pay for a cure.

Of course, there isn't a cure.

Because of this late discovery of this… condition, I've had to stay at the hospital, to recuperate from the treatments. When I was first admitted, it felt as if I was missed…

For about a week, my room in the ward was full of flowers, balloons, and cards. But, the visitors soon dwindled and all the get-well gifts began trickling down to nothing shortly after. I realized that the only reason I had gotten so many cards and flowers was because sending me sympathy had been turned into a class project. Maybe some people were genuinely concerned, but I doubt it. Even in the beginning, I barely had visitors. By the end of the first month, only my parents came on a daily basis.

Shiki was the last to stop visiting.

After six weeks, I never saw her again. We never had that much to talk about when she visited, anyway. We didn't touch the subject that was between us on that snowy day ever again.

The hospital? It's not really a place I'd like to live in. The doctors and nurses feel so impersonal and faceless. I guess it's because they are in a hurry and they have a million other patients waiting for them, but it makes me feel uncomfortable. For the first month or so, I asked the head cardiologist every time I saw him for a rough estimate of when I'd be able to leave. He never answered anything in a straightforward way, but told me to wait and see if the treatment and surgeries worked.

So, I idly observed the scar that those surgeries had left on my chest slowly change its appearance over time, thinking of it as some kind of an omen. The physical imprint on my body that was proof of my accident. My disease. My imperfection.

I still ask the head cardiologist about leaving, but my expectations are low enough now that I'm not disappointed any more when I don't get a reply. The way he shuffles around the answer shows that there is at least some hope.

At some point I stopped watching TV. I don't know why, I just did. Maybe it was the wrong kind of escapism for my situation.

I started reading instead. There was a small "library" at the hospital, although it was more like a storeroom for books. I began working my way through it, one small stack at a time. After consuming them, I would go back for more. I found that I liked reading and I think I even became a bit addicted. I started feeling naked without a book in my hands.

But I loved the stories.

That was what my life was like. The days became increasingly harder to distinguish from each other, differing only by the book I was reading and the weather outside. It felt like time blurred into some kind of gooey mass I was trapped inside, instead of moving within. A week could go by without me really noticing it. Sometimes, I'd pause in realization that I didn't know what day of the week it was. But other times, all the things that surrounded me would painfully crash into my consciousness, through the barrier of nonchalance I had set up for myself. The pages of my book would start to feel sharp and burning hot and the heaviness in my chest would become so hard to bear that I had to put the book aside and just lay down for a while, looking at the ceiling as if I was going to cry. But that happened only rarely.

And I couldn't even cry.

Today, the doctor comes in and gives me a smile. He seems excited, but not very. It's like he's trying to make an effort to be happy on my behalf. My parents are here. It's been a few days since I've last seen them. Both of them are even sort of dressed up. Is this supposed to be some kind of special occasion? It's not a party.

There is this ritual the head cardiologist has. He takes his time, sorting his papers, then setting them aside as if to make a point of the pointlessness of what he just did. Then he causally sits down on the edge of the bed next to mine. He looks me in the eyes for a moment.

"Hello, Sora. How are you today?" he asks. I don't answer him but I smile a little, back at him.

"I believe that you can go home; your heart is stronger now, and with some precautions, you should be fine. We have all your medication sorted out. I'll give your father the prescription." The doctor hands a sheet of paper to my d ad, whose expression turns wooden as he reads it quickly.

"So many…" I hear him mutter under his breath. I take it from his hand and take a look myself, feeling numb. How am I supposed to react to this? The absurdly long list of medications staring back at me from the paper seems insurmountable: They all blend together in a sea of letters. Propane, 100mg per day, ataxia, insomnia, nightmares, vision effects, the list goes on and on. This is insane. Side effects, adverse effects, contradictions and dosages are listed line after line with cold precision. I try to read them, but it's futile. I can't understand any of it. Attempting to, only makes me feel sicker. All this..just for my heart…

"I'm afraid that is the best we can do at this point." The doctor says gravely. "However, new medications are always being developed, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that list fade over the years."He adds, as if that could possibly reassure me. It could take years for this condition to have some type of definite end. It's not exactly a calming thought. But the doctor has more to say.

"Also, I've spoken with your parents and we believe that it would be best if you don't return to your old school." Wait, what? I can feel the anger building up inside of me, and my chest begins to beat quickly. It seems my emotions are easily visible, as my father quickly moves to comfort me.

"Please, calm down, Sora. Listen to what the doctor has to say…" Calm down? How the hell am I supposed to calm down? I've just been told that I'll have to be on meds for the rest of my life, or best case scenario, "a couple of years", and I'll be relocated to some kind of loony bin! Whatever of my concern shows, it's ignored.

The doctor takes my dad's words as some sort of cue, and continues his tirade. "We all understand that your education is paramount; however, I don't think that it's wise for you to be without supervision, at least not until we're sure that your medication is suitable. So, I've spoken to your parents about a transfer. It's a school called Twilight Academy that specializes in dealing with disabled students." Disabled? What? Am I…

"It has a twenty four hour nursing staff and it's only a few minutes from a highly regarded general hospital. The majority of students live on the campus." The doctor continues, ignoring my reaction or simply not noticing it. "Think of it as a boarding school of sorts. It's designed to give students a degree of independence, while keeping help nearby." Independence? It's a school for disabled kids! Don't try to disguise that fact. If it was really that "free," there wouldn't be a twenty four hour nursing staff, and you wouldn't make a hospital being nearby a selling point.

"Of course, that's only if you want to go. But… your mother and I aren't really able to home school you. We went out there and had a look a couple of weeks back; I think you'd like it." Now he's just trying to guilt me into this. It looks like I really don't have a choice. I'll have to move away from Destiny Islands to a different island, just so I can be treated like a patient in a school.

"Compared to other heart problems, people with your condition usually tend to live long lives. You'll need a job one day and this is a good opportunity to continue your education." This isn't an opportunity, don't call it an opportunity. Don't sugarcoat the goddamned thing. It's not a goddamned opportunity! "Well, you should be excited at the chance to go back to school. I remember you wanted to return to school, and while it's not the same one…" A special school. That's…

An insult. That is what I want to say. It's a step down.

My father seems to read my emotions, and hurries to intercept me. "It's not what you think. All of the students there are pretty active, in their own sort of way. It's geared towards students that can still get around and learn, but just need a little help… in one way or another."

"Your father's right." Oh, now they're double teaming me. "Many of the graduates of the school have gone on to do amazing things. A person doesn't have to be held back by their disability. In fact, one of my colleagues in another hospital is a graduate." I don't care. A person doesn't have to be held back by their disability? That's what a disability is. I really hate that something so important was decided for me. But what can I do about it? A "normal" life is out of the question now. It's funny, I had always thought my life was actually kind of boring, but now I miss it. I want to protest. I want to blame this lack of reaction on shock, or fatigue. I could easily yell out something now - something about how I can go back to school anway. But, no. I don't say anything. The face is that I know now it's futile. I look around the room, feeling very tired of all this. The hospital, doctors, my condition, everything. I don't see anything that would make me feel any different. There really isn't a choice. I know this, but the thought of going to a disabled school… what are those even like? As much as I try to put a positive spin on this, it's very difficult.

But let me try.

A clean slate isn't a bad thing.

That is all I can think of to get me through this. At least I still have something; even if it's a "special school," it's something. It's a fresh start, and my life isn't over. It would be a mistake to just resign myself to thinking that.

At the very least, I'll try to see what my new life will look like.


	2. One of Them?

**I'd rather not get lost in an overly long introduction, so I'll just say that this is the first chapter of Life Expectancy: Stride. So enjoy the chapter.**

The gate looked far too pompous for what it was. In fact, gates in general seem to do that , but this one especially so. Red bricks, black wrought iron and gray plaster, assembled into a whole that didn't feel welcoming at all. I wondered if it looked like what a gate for a school should look like, but couldn't really decide. Probably not. Of course I didn't want to get stuck on thinking about something as miniscule as a gate for _too_ long, so I entered through it with a brisk pace that felt surprisingly good.

Moving forward feels good.

So I walk towards the main building of Twilight Academy with this brisk pace. I'm alone, as my parents are taking my stuff to the dorms, and there's supposed to be someone waiting for me. The stagnant time between now and walking to my rendezvous point gives me time to reflect on everything that's happened so far. Shiki's proposal, my heart attack, the four months in my ward, packing up my bags, saying goodbye to my friends, and the silent train ride to Twilight Town. It all feels surreal, like a prolonged dream; or a nightmare, in this case.

I wish I could just wake up.

The grounds are incredibly lush, filled with green. It doesn't feel like the kind of grounds a school would have, more like a park, with a clean walkway going past trees and the smell of fresh-cut grass and all other park-like things. Words like "clean" and "hygienic' pop into my mind. It makes me physically shudder. I shake these feelings off and keep moving. Stay open-minded Sora, this is your new life. You have to take it as it comes.

That's what I keep telling myself anyway.

A few big buildings loom behind the leafy canopies, too big and too many for just a school. Everything seems off; it's different from what I thought I knew about schools. It's an uncanny valley. Even though I was told this is my new school, in the back of my head it doesn't feel like one. I wonder if the feeling is real or caused by my expectations of a school for the disabled. Speaking of that, I don't see anyone else here. It's kinda eerie. It makes me wish there was somebody here so I could anchor myself to something tangible instead of having this feeling that I stepped into another dimension.

The trees hum from cicada's being wrenched by the wind. Green hues flash all around me, and the overall calm atmosphere catches my attention. It makes me think about hospitals again, how they say that the operating rooms are painted green because green is a calming color.

So, why am I feeling so anxious, despite all this greenery?

Only after I stand in front of the haughty main building, I surprise myself by realizing why the gate bothered me.

It was the last chance I had to turn back, even though I had no life I could return to. But still, after entering, there was absolutely no way I could go back. Feeling nervous and with this realization set in my head, I open the front door.

A tall man with bad posture notices me as I enter. We're the only people in the lobby, so it's only logical. His long hair covers the right side of his face, and the lighting makes it difficult to place its color. It's either a dark brown or a weird shade of blue.

"You must be… H… Hi… Hikai?" He asks with a monotone voice, reading what I assume is my last name from a notebook he keeps in his hand.

"Hikari." I correct, feeling a bit out of place. His face shows slight signs of success, though it's quickly covered by his monotone stare.

"So you are. Excellent. I am your homeroom and science teacher. My name is Zexion. Welcome to Twilight Academy." He extends his hand, which I take and give a good firm shake. It's important to make a good first impression. As he retracts his hand, he glances at his watch. "The head nurse asked you for a brief check-in visit, but there's no time for that now."

"Oh. Should I go later?"

"Yes, afternoon is probably fine. We should get going and introduce you to the rest of the class. They're waiting already." Waiting for me? I don't really like being the center of attention, but I guess it's inevitable in a situation like this. Somehow, not knowing what is waiting for me makes me feel really nervous.

Thinking of this, I almost miss what the teacher is saying.

"Do you want to introduce yourself to the class?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, isn't that normal?" Oh wait, I forgot. Normal conventions are reserved for normal people.

"Of course. But not everyone lies to be at the center of attention." I'm probably one of those people, but I guess I should be the one to give the first impression of myself.

"Right, I understand, but it's no problem."

"Let's go then." With those last words, he shakes his head and starts walking, leaving me to follow behind. My heart is pounding in my chest and it keeps me thinking about my condition as I follow the teacher up the stairs. The third door down the third floor corridor is marked as the classroom for class "3-3". Zexion opens the door and enter.

"Good morning everyone, sorry I'm late again." I hesitate for a split second at the door, freezing on the spot.

Ah, get a grip! This is a big step, I know that… But there isn't any point to worrying so much about it, at least not this soon. I follow the teacher into the classroom and look around, partially so I won't have to meet the curious gazes of my new classmates. It's pretty spacious; the ceiling is unusually high and there's lots of space left over around and in between the desks. An entire wall taken up by blackboards and the high, old fashioned windows only make it seem larger. The students' desks are just standard wooden desks with a shelf underneath for books attached to wooden chairs with metal frames. Simple and efficient.

I stop walking ain front of the classroom and face the other students. They all look normal, like students in any other school. But then, why would they be here? They're probably like me and have something wrong with them, only it's just not immediately obvious. Then, I notice one of the girls seems to be missing the thumb of her right hand. It's a little jarring. Despite the natural tendency to listen when someone's talking about you, I tune out the teacher's speech halfway through while he introduces me to the class. I notice a flash of dark hair and see that someone is looking at me. A girl with really long, straight hair that is pretty eye-catching. As she sees me looking back at her, she covers her face with her hands as if it will make her invisible. I look to the girl's left and see a boy with a cane leaning against the lockers at the rear of the class. It's weird seeing someone so young with a cane. Another girl seems to be making some weird hand motions. Sign language? I quickly dismiss it, as deafness is probably not that unnatural here.

"… please welcome our newest classmate." He claps his hands and so does everyone else, except one girl in the front row who has only one hand. I cringe a little, but hide it by smiling in thanks for this applause I didn't deserve. A collective silence tells me that this is my cue to introduce myself.

"So… I'm Sora Hikari." I start, but immediately catch myself not knowing how to proceed. "My hobbies are reading and soccer. I hope to get along well with everyone even though I'm a new student." After that?

…

I'm being so boring. This is exactly like every self-introduction ever. I should say something more. Something more exciting. I end up saying nothing, and Zexino picks it up from there. Everyone seems to be satisfied even with what little I said. I see a few girls whispering and giggling, throwing glances at me. It could've gone worse. I go to take my seat, and Zexion starts his lecture.

…

I listen to the teacher as he drones on about being friends and sticking together and such, and I'm flung back into the real world when he starts asking me questions.

"We're gonna start doing group work. You're okay with that right?" Don't stop the class for me now. Among these people, I might be the most normal.

"Yeah, I'm okay with that."

"That's good, you can work with Tilmitt. She's the class representative. She can explain anything you might want to know. And who else would be able to do that better, right?" How could I know?

The teacher passes out the day's assignments and announces that we will be working in groups of three. It hits me that I don't know who "Tilmitt" is. The teacher seems to catch my helpless expression. "Oh, right. Tilmitt is right there, Selphie Tilmitt." As he calls out her name, a cute, bubbly looking girl with light brown pigtails waves her hand at me. I take a seat next to her, by the window.

"Hey, I guess you're Tilmitt, right? It's nice to meet you." I introduce myself, as it's only customary. Of course, I wasn't expecting such an eccentric response.

"Oh! You're the new kid! Please, just call me Selphie. I _hate_ when people call me by my surname. It makes me feel so old! So! How are you enjoying Twilight Academy? Make any friends yet? Join any of the clubs?" Her introduction is rattled on without stop or room for breath that I find myself struggling to remember any of her earlier questions. She stops talking, giving me an expectant look. I'm completely lost, I have no idea what to say, and I'm even more confused as she starts laughing.

"Hahaha~! I'm just busting your chops!" She sticks out her hand, "I'm Selphie Tilmitt, class 3-3's representative!" She starts giggling, and I take notice of her appearance. Her "pigtails" are actually strands of hair hanging off of the sides of her head, making them bounce when she moves. Her green eyes glimmer with joy and humor, and I can't help but laugh with her. It seems to be infectious.

"Well, Selphie, It's nice to meet you." I retry with a grin.

"Haha! C'mon, let's get started on this assignment!" She says in an excited tone of voice. "After class, we can take a walk around the grounds together. It's a nice day today!"

Although we start the assignment later than others, we finish it a few minutes earlier than anyone else in the class. Selphie is really capable, despite her aloof attitude and appearance. To be honest, she did most of the work. I feel a bit guilty about that. The bell rings, signaling the end of the period. Selphie immediately bolts up, grabs me by the wrist, and drags me past her out of the room. Not knowing what to do, I let her drag me down the stairs to what I assume will be the cafeteria, since it's lunch time.

We descend down the stairs until we reach ground floor, and a few turns later, we reach the cafeteria. Just like everything in this school, the cafeteria seems too spacious and oddly modern in contrast to the classic exterior. Its big windows open to the courtyard, towards the main gate.

"This is the cafeteria!" She exclaims, holding her arms out as if to present the spacious room as a prize on a game show. Her enthusiastic statement of the obvious makes people around us stare, but Selphie doesn't seem to care so we proceed to the line.

There is a rather long list of menu options, which seems great until I realize that many of them are to accommodate students who need special diets. How nice. It almost feels like I'm back at the hospital, eating portions measured with scientific precision to meet the needs of the patients. I pick something that has chicken in it and follow Selphie to a table, sitting opposite of her. As I nibble indifferently at the food I don't feel like eating, she pokes me in the side to get my attention.

"Do you want to know something?" She asks randomly.

"About what?"

"Anything! I _am_ your guide, so you should be able to ask me about anything!"

"Hmm, I wonder…" I pause to think of something to ask, when suddenly I remember about a necessity for my survival. "Is there a library in the school? Lately I've gotten interested into reading a lot so I'd like to check it out." Selphie gives me a kind of frown that makes it clear she doesn't consider reading a healthy hobby, but then picks up her smile again.

"You bet there is! It's on the second floor, I'll show it to you later!"

"Thanks."

We start to indulge ourselves in our separate meals, my mind slowly wandering to random places just to pass the time.

We arrive in the classroom early, but we're not the first. The dark haired girl I noticed before is slumped over her desk at the last row. She jumps a little when Selphie enters the room with the elegance of a rhino. She shrinks deeper into her seat. I can feel her tension all the way from here, as if she were slowly turning into stone just from our presence. Selphie doesn't seem to notice, as she walks directly past her to her seat. I'm left wondering about her, even when the classroom slowly fills with other students and finally, the teacher.

Getting into the rhythm of school feels strange; it's as if my brain remembers how this is done, but my body doesn't. Towards the end of the class, I start yawning and counting the minutes left. I shouldn't be this tired on my first day of school. Maybe it's the long time spent in the hospital that makes me like this. I'm even feeling physically weak and lifeless.

Before long, the final bell rings. School is finally over for the day. Beside me, Selphie yawns loudly, stretching her arms far past behind her head, before turning to me. "Hey Sora, I've got somewhere I gotta be. I'm afraid I won't be able to show you around today. Got somewhere to be. But I'm sure you'll find your way around." She gets up to leave but I grab her by the shoulder as I remember something.

"Ah, wait! The teacher said I'd have to see the nurse. Where do I have to go?"

"Hm… is that so? Well, I can show you that much! The nurses have their own building, so we have to go outside. C'mon!" She yanks me out of my seat and skips out the door, leaving me to follow. That seems to be happening quite a bit today. We join the flow of students making their way down the stairwell and outside, with Selphie pointing out other senior classrooms in the same hallway as ours. When we get outside, we walk towards the smaller building right beside the school. It's built in the same style, so it looks like it's part of the main design.

"This is the auxiliary building. There's a lot of official and important stuff inside, like the Yamaku Foundation office and all the nurses' offices. They even have a swimming pool!" She informs me, although I never asked. The swimming pool bit did catch me though.

"How is a swimming pool official?"

She playfully smacks me on the shoulder and laughs. "Don't be silly Sora! It's for physical therapy of course!" That doesn't exactly answer my question, but she doesn't seem to notice as she continues her tirade. Once again, being ignored has happened a lot recently. "Anyway, all the nursing staff facilities are in there too. The head nurse's office is on the first floor. You'll be fine from here right?" she asks, though doesn't wait for an answer and bolts off, and I can hear her yelling a few goodbyes from the distance.

"Yeah thanks." I mutter under my breath. I turn around and gaze and the building. A whole building for stuff that has nothing to do with the actual education? I guess it's necessary for a place like this. I walk in, hoping that this really will be only a quick visit like the teacher said. I've had enough of prolonged hospital visits.

On a white door on the left is a green cross with the text "Head Nurse" and a nameplate reading "Aerith Gainsborough". A voice from the inside responds to my knock almost immediately, but I can't quite make it out. It sounded a bit like an invitation to open the door, so I invite myself further in. The room is not large and it smells strange. A friendly looking woman turns around on her office chair to face me as I enter. Her desk is neat and tidy, but the bin under the table is overflowing with used medical utensils and there are at least a dozen coffee-cup rings lingering on the desk.

"Hello there. What can I do for you today?" The woman asked. She is young looking and sort of rugged, but the dimples in her cheeks wash that impression away when she smiles.

"Erm, are you the nurse?" I ask hesitantly. She looks the part, but she looks quite young as well. She smiles like a person who has heard this very same question hundreds of times.

"Why yes, I am. It says so on the door, no?" So she's Aerith Gainsborough, "you can call me by just Aerith, like everyone else does." I shake off my confusion, realizing I should probably grab her extended hand. Her handshake is rather firm and friendly.

"Right… er, I'm a new student and my homeroom teacher told me to come and meet you. I'm Sora Hikari." Her eyes light up with revelation at the sound of my name, and snaps her fingers.

"Oh, you're THAT Hikari. I was just reading your file this moring. Some kind of chronic arrhythmia and related congenital heart muscle deficiency, right?" She gestures me to sit down in a vacant armchair in front of his desk. I take her cue and sit down. "Good. Well, you've probably been briefed about the school enough, so I'll just go over this quickly. We have all kinds of facilities available, mostly physical therapy and such. There's always someone from my staff around, even at night, so never hesitate to call us if there is a problem." Ah, the famous twenty four hour nursing staff.

I decide to voice my current thoughts, "Wow, this is just like a hospital."

"Well, not exactly. For instance, we don't do brain surgery here." She says it with a serious voice, but her nice smile makes me question whether or not it was meant to be a joke.

"Yeah… just that it's really weird to have so many medical people at a school."

She giggles at my comment, having probably heard that many times. "You'll get used to it." I'm not sure of that myself, but I don't let the nurse know it. "Now, let me find your file again…" While she searches for something from her computer and shuffles stacks of papers around, I let my gaze wander around the room. It's the epitome of generic, I'd like to say. Beige walls and ceiling, dark gray laminate flooring, and all the equipment you'd expect from a school nurse's office. Even the ridiculous educational poster are hanging on all four walls, reminding me to eat properly – three times a day and from all the food groups. Smiling, the nurse draws a thick file from a stack of similarly thick files and opens it.

"So, you already have medication for the arrhythmia, just remember to take your pills every morning and evening or it won't be much help." She seems to be summarizing the fine printed papers she's holding. "Apart from that… do you do any sports? Rash stuff like… I don't know, boxing?" She grins at her own joke, but I don't.

"Eh, well. I played soccer occasionally with some classmates." I recall doing so at my old school.

"All right, I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend you refrain from doing that. At least, for the time being."

"Oh." My lack of reaction makes him raise an eyebrow, but really, I'm not too bothered by him forbidding me to kick a ball around. I guess I never did it out of a burning passion for the sport. Just to have something to do.

"Any kind of concussion might be very dangerous to your heart and risking another attack is not a good idea." She puts the clipboard back onto her desk and turns to me. "Was the previous one caused by a sudden concussion to the chest area? There is no mention of the cause in your papers."

"Err… not exactly." I sidestep the question acceptably, and she glances at me over her papers, with a more serious expression on her face.

"Still, you need to keep your body healthy so some exercise would do you good. We have physical therapy and such available as I said, but I don't think you really need such heavy measures." She removes her serious face with her previous cheery one. "Just get some light exercise regularly. Brisk walks or even light jogging, jumping rope, that sort of thing. Swimming, maybe? There's a pool here."

"So I was told."

"You were? Very good. That makes things easier for me." She adds with a slight laugh. "At any rate, and I'm sure you've been told this before, you just need to take care not to overexert yourself." She wags her finger to emphasize the point. No need really, I've heard this a thousand times already. "Absolutely no unnecessary risks. Take care of yourself."

"Okay." She goes over my papers one more time and sets them on the desk, obviously content.

"Good, that's it. Come meet me if you ever need something." I'm ushered out before I eve nrealize it. A quick visit, indeed.

I end up standing in front of the main building and the auxiliary building, although to my eyes, they still look one and the same. It's the first real look I get at the other students, so I watch people coming out of the school, going towards the gate or the dorms. Everyone seems to know where they are going. And I still keep thinking that most of them don't look too special for being students at a special school. Then again, neither do I.

Does that make me on of them? One of us?

…

I should go somewhere too, to prevent me from getting lost. It's around dinnertime, but I feel tired instead of hungry. The weariness in me only grows as I trudge towards the dorms, set a little way apart from the main building complex. There is a garden of sorts between the school and the dorms; shrubbery, flowers and that overbearing smell of fresh cut grass that fills the atmosphere. It dawns on my tired mind that the smell feels novel because I haven't been outside at all for so long.

The dorm building is big and made of red brick. Like the others, it feels way too pompous for what it is, so I push forward, going inside. It takes more time than necessary to fish out the key I was given from my pocket.

"Room one-one-nine…" I mutter under my breath, trying to find my room. I enter the dorms and find myself quite… underwhelmed. Despite the ornate exterior, the inside of the dorm is fairly new, functional, and boring. Just like in the main building, the halls and doors are wide to accommodate wheelchairs. The same goes for the elevators at the ends of the hallways. I poke my head around the corner of the common room door. Inside are a few students watching the television. It seems that only the girls around here are sociable, as none of them even bat an eye. Though I suppose that's fine by me. I climb the stairs to the upper floor, where there are small corridors branching off from the main hallway. Each of these minor halls seems to have a toilet and a shower, as well as four rooms. About halfway down the hall, I spy room 119. The nameplates on the rooms adjacent to mine are blank. I guess there are just two of us here. I see light shining from below the door of room 117, so I knock lightly.

"Hello? Is anyone home? From inside, I hear a few movements, then the clicking of way more locks than I thought these doors had. After a moment the door squeakes open. A bespectacled boy is standing in the doorway. He is looking at me very intently through his extremely thick eyeglasses.

"Who is it? He asks me, though it looks like he's asking the general direction of me. Blind? No, at least not completely. Why would he have eyeglasses if he was? He leans closer to me until our noses are almost touching. His breath stinks of garlic.

"S… Sora Hikari… I'm moving into the next room. I thought I should introduce my-" His face suddenly brightens in realization, and he stands back upright, thrusting his hand out in a smiling greeting, almost straight to my diaphragm.

"Oh, 'sup dude? The name's Roxas." He extends his hand, giving me an expecting look. I take Roxas's sweaty hand and shake it, still a little rattled by the sudden change of attitude and vehement welcome. "There were some suspicious-looking people going in an out of your room earlier." He points out, darting his eyes from left to right like a scared animal.

"It was probably my parents."

"Your parents? You sure? Cause they could've been some other people, too. You can't judge a book by its cover." His out of place proverb is left hanging between us awkwardly as I try to think of some way to respond.

"I… I'd say the chances are high enough."

He shudders and makes some exaggerated hand gestures. "You're a brave man, Sora. Me, I don't think I could trust the chances. The only one I trust is myself."

"Does that mean I shouldn't get to know you, either?"

He thinks about this for a while.

…

…

…

"A wise decision. Damn, you are smarter than you look. Probably." I don't know whether or not I should take this as a compliment or an insult. "What do you look like? I hope not smart." He squints his eyes and leans closer again, but I lean backwards to dodge it. "Never mind, it doesn't matter." With that, he turns around, fumbles for a moment in search of the door handle, and shuts the door behind him.

…

I slide the key into the lock of the door marked 119. Bleak beige walls, white linen, a desk made of some type of light wood. Ugly curtains. It's no one's room; impersonal, like my hospital room was. My bags are sitting at the foot of my bed, looking a lot emptier than they did this morning. The closet is sitting open, stocked with my clothes. Also, it seems that there are a number of school uniforms hanging there as well. A note is pinned to the sleeve of one of the shirts.

_Hi Sora, we've unpacked your things and made your bed. They said that if these don't fit then you should go to the office tomorrow. If you have any problems, you can always call us. Love, Mom and Dad._

Well, at least I don't have to worry about unpacking. I kind of hoped I would have, then there would be something to do.

It's still too early.

I put the note down on the desktop and lie down on the bed, feeling drained. Lying there makes me want to read something, but I have nothing with me. I wonder if the hospital conditioned me for wanting to read whenever I have nothing to do. The restless urge just keeps growing until I have to stand up.

Maybe it's stress or something. I was pretty nervous about it before coming and for the entire day today too. I still am, I think. Damn, I have to distract myself somehow, so I won't be this unnatural all the time.

Tomorrow, I'll go borrow some books from the library.

Yeah, I'll do that.

But for now…

The bottles of medications neatly arranged on my night table catch my eye. I pick up one and shake it just to hear the contents rattle inside, and then read the glued on pharmacy table.

_Sora Hikari. Two tablets daily to stay alive._

It doesn't really say that, but it could just as well. It's kinda twisted, having your life depend on chemicals like this. I resent it a little, but what choice do I have? With a sigh, I begin my new daily ritual of taking the right number of pills from each bottle, being careful to check the correct dosages.

…

I lie down again, feeling hollow and uncertain, and after that I keep staring at the blank, unfamiliar ceiling for a long time. It doesn't start looking any more familiar, not even after darkness falls and long shadows draw across my room like fingers. The sheets feel slightly more comfortable, warm and nest-like against the chill that passes for room temperature here. Soon the lighter shade of darkness that is the ceiling looks like every ceiling does at night, and it becomes the only thing I recognize anymore. The night beckons me to sleep, and I feel the coldness of unfamiliarity and fear creeping up my spine once again.

I keep drifting further away from the world I knew.

**This chapter was actually supposed to be a bit shorter, and the previous one longer, so that I could get into the story a bit faster. Next chapter to Stride will be out in about three or four days depending on my mood and schedule. So for now, good bye.**


	3. Collision

**Chapter 2 (Techincally 3) GOGOGO!**

I wake up in a strange room.

Solid morning light shimmers against the light gray ceiling. I had forgotten to draw the curtains closed last night.

…

This is my room, isn't it?

My… room…

This is the third room this year that I'm supposed to call "mine."

Various things around here remind me that indeed, it's me who is supposed to be the one living here. My bags on the floor, my new school books on the desk. My numerous medications on the night table. I stare at the bottles for a moment, deliberating, until I open a bottle, shake out a pill and pop out a tablet from a foil sheet. I down them with a bottle of water without thinking about the chemistry.

My uniforms are in the closet.

I slink out from under the sheets and stretch my back before dressing up. Putting on a new school uniform feels like dressing in someone else's clothes. The artificial smell of generic detergent invades my nose, but the feeling of fresh cloth against my back is a good one, a natural one. It feels like a school uniform, as it should. It's not much different from what I used to wear before. That goes for other things too. SO far, this place seems more or less like a normal school.

Well, except for the people.

I think back to my talk with Roxas yesterday, Selpie's constant laughter… well, I've only met two students so far. Maybe they aren't that normal, but I'm sure others are. Or, perhaps, people like them are what passes for normal around here? Yeah, what does pass for normal around here? What do people do? I didn't see a lot of kids hanging around after classes yesterday, so maybe there are clubs. If so, I wonder if I should join one.

All through class, the question remains on my mind, so I decide to ask Selphie about it when we split into groups. After all, she did say if I had anything I wanted to know, I should ask her.

"Hey. Selphie." I call to her, once I see her enter her desk. She turns to me with an overenthusiastic smile.

"Hi Sora! Is there something you wanted from me?" I relay my question to her, and she gives me a look that can only be described as "adorably confused". "Oh… I see! Hm… that's a good question…" My first thought is that she doesn't know, which is worrying. Maybe I'm being too negative. Well, anyway, Selphie, please don't prove me right.

…

…

…

…

God why.

After what seems like an eternity of thinking, Selphie sticks her finger into the air in a total "eureka" pose. "Oh, right! Everyone is encouraged to join a club. A lot of people do so because there isn't really anything else to do. There are a few school events, like the festival coming up in a few days. Almost every student in the school tends to help out with it, doing whatever." Her speech actually makes me remember something I've been wanting to ask about.

"Hey, is that school festival one of the things you were talking about?" I had overheard a few students talking about some kind of festival, and it sounded interesting, to say the least.

"Yep yep! That's the closest school event to today!"

"Well, what's the festival about?"

Selphie visibly freezes.

…

…

…

"Wahahaha~! I don't know!" This is the moment where, in an anime, the characters would fall backwards suddenly with their legs being the only things visible. I decide to settle for a facepalm. "But… then again… who cares?" As of this point, she's not even trying to whisper. I can feel the eyes boring into my back.

"Not so loud…" I try to warn, but it's useless.

"Human beings evolve with each new generation! The ideals and beliefs behind a festival will inevitable change with time! Now, it's about delicious fried food and amusing little games that you play to win prizes! Hahahaha~!" Zexion clears his throat very loudly, batting his long wooden pointer against his other palm like a baton. Or a whip. He shoots a pointed gaze at us. Finally noticing where we are, Selphie stifles a yelp of surprise and quickly quiets down. Although, this silence is short lived, because as soon as the room goes back to normal, Selphie leans over and starts whispering. "That's right! Sora, are you asking because you're interested in joining a club?" I don't answer, as I'm feeling a bit tired, but out of the corner of my eye, I see the girl with long, dark hair. She gets up from her desk and slips silently towards the door. It doesn't seem like she was working in any group, and no one seems to notice her but me. I glance at the teacher, who's also looking at the dark-haired girl go.

Why doesn't he say anything?

Class rolls on slowly, until the bell rings, signifying lunch break. I get up, with the intention of finding the library, when I'm once again yanked by the scruff of my collar and dragged down the stairs. Selphie really has to find a better way to ask me to lunch.

STRIDESTRIDESTRIDESTRIDESTRI DESTRIDE

"Bye bye!" Selphie yells, slowly escaping my view down the hallway. We had just finished lunch, and I remember to ask her about directions to the library. Unfortunately, the directions were as vague as "it's somewhere on the second floor". One flight of stairs up and I'm already lost. The second floor hallway is a carbon copy of the third floor one. Wide, of course; and plain, like only hallways can be. The problem is that the library's whereabouts are not as easily determined as one would think. The classrooms are marked with signs stating which class they belong to, but the there is a plethora of other, unmarked rooms. Is the library one of them? Or is it just somewhere down the hallway? I bet on the latter and choose my direction at random. After I turn around the corner, an unmarked door draws my attention because it's not closed. It's not open either though; just barely ajar so that I can see it's open and nothing else. It would make sense for the library door to be invitingly open, and while this one is not quite that, it's good enough. At the very least it means that someone is inside and I can ask for directions no matter how embarrassing that is.

I gingerly push on the center of the door with my fingertips, every muscle in my arm ready to pull back at a moment's notice. The feeling of being an outsider to this school can't shaken from my mind, so much so that I instinctively fear doing something wrong by entering. The door slowly creaks as if groaning from a deep sleep, though is much easier to open than I'd anticipated. Leaning over and poking my head ever further inside to gain sight of the room as fast as possible, the meek "Hello…?" on my lips is quickly snatched away.

…

This… is not as I was expecting.

I mindlessly let the door open to its full extent, taking in the sight of the solitary figure taking center stage in the otherwise abandoned room. The situation steals my voice, leaving me standing at the doorway staring at the beautiful girl. Her blond hair seems to cascade down her shoulder, as she sits casually in the chair, yet emits an aura of sophistication. Evidently having taken her time to assess the situation, the girl gently puts down her teacup and opens her eyes, but doesn't look at me.

"Hello there. May I help you?" Staring directly in front of herself, the movement of her lips seem to break the silence rather than the words. However it's the soft, measured voice that reminds me she's a being separate from the room itself. Not only is she likely the tallest girl I've ever laid eyes on, but even among the foreigners I've met she's strikingly distinct.

"Uh, hi. Sorry for intruding, I was just… kind of… lost." I confess, rubbing my hand on the back of my hand. I can feel myself turning red, and I look at her. She takes a moment to formulate a response before speaking. Every action she takes feels as if it's carefully choreographed beforehand.

"Care to take a seat?" The mystery girl asks. It's unexpected, considering that I'm intruding upon her.

"Ummm… thanks." I slowly step towards another seat opposite her, the girl resting the teacup and saucer on the wooden table in between. The way she doesn't track my movements with her head is telling… that, and the slight cloudiness to her eyes means that she must be at least partially blind, like Roxas. As I take my seat, her composure takes me slightly off-guard. Her air of relaxed confidence makes the silence entirely comfortable. The calming atmosphere is so very different from the student council office.

"I take it you're a new student to the academy?" the wavy-haired girl asks.

"Ah, yeah. Just transferred in yesterday." I get the distinct feeling my speech patterns don't match the formality of hers, accentuated by her restrained bow of greeting, one which I hasten to match, before realizing the futility of the action.

"I'm NamineSatou. Pleased to meet you."

"Sora. SoraHikari." She gives a nod before gesturing roughly in the direction of her teacup.

"Would you care for a drink?" Namine offers.

"Sure." As much as it pains me, I can't keep step with her formality in the proceedings. She gives a kind nod, taking the request in stride. Without another word, she steps off the chair and prepares a second cup of tea from a collection of supplies laid out along a shelf. A brush here, a brush there, her left hand often lightly touching the side of whichever container she's pouring into… it seems to be a process she's followed dozens of times before. As I lean sideways to see around her back, she seems to use her long, dainty finger to measure the right amount of water in the cup. It's one thing to see the different disabilities the students in my class have, but it's quite another to see how everyone seems to adapt. Namine herself seems to have workarounds for problems I'd never thought of. While I feel slightly guilty about her doing the work, she seems pleased to be following the "correct" process of the offerer preparing the drink.

"So," her soft voice brings me out of my silent observation. "Which room were you looking for? It's not often this classroom is visited after school."

"The library. Selp- I mean, a classmate told me it was on this floor." She finishes pouring water into the teacup as she nods, a small metallic tapping coming from the teacup indicating it being stirred.

"I'm aware of Miss Tilmitt, as are most students. To be with them means you're in class 3-3, no?"

"That's right, in the science room with Zexion." She gives a small giggle before setting down the teaspoon and slowly walking towards the table, teacup and saucer in hand.

"He's quite a character. I imagine you'll come to like him; most do." As she sets down her tea, I gently take it and have a sip. I'm really more of a coffee person, but this seems like a rather moment to bring it up. Nonetheless, the smell's quite nice. I hardly think it'd be hard to choke down.

"Thanks, Satou. It tastes really nice."

She smiles and quickly waves her hand in front of her face. "Namine, please. There's no need to be too formal." She says this in spite of her exceedingly well-bred speech. Oh well. I guess I should try and ask her about herself, as it really does seem as if she's catering to me.

"So which class are you from? I imagine it's one of the third year classes."

"Correct, I'm in class 3-2; which is on the third floor, same as yours. It's specifically for both blind and partially blind students."

"I see."

…

Wait what?

"Ah, I mean, uh, um… s-sorry…" I feel like like slapping myself for the faux-pas. Looking at her face, though, she doesn't seem in the least bit put off by it.

"My my, there's no need to change your speech on my account." She reassures, with a kind smile.

"Ah, sure. Sorry, I guess I'm really showing my newness here." She giggles at my confession, covering her mouth with her hand.

"An environment like this would be a big change, so I can't fault you for it. While the same can't be said for everyone, many have come to terms with their conditions." A category which would include her, it seems. All too ready to jump ship from this particular topic, I segue into another.

"Do you come here to drink tea often? It's a really nice place." Thinking on it, this might be her version of the place behind my old school that I like to have lunch at.

"I come here fairly often during lunch times. My duties as class representative don't leave enough time for an official club, so a friend and I use this room for having tea." Class representative, huh? Compared to Selphie, her mannerisms seem to be almost completely opposite. While Selphie's hyperactive and easily driven by emotions, Namine seems relaxed and calm, almost aloof. We talk for a bit, and I look up to see orange through the window, signaling sunset.

"Huh, the time's gone quickly."

"Sorry?" Namine asks, with a tilt of the head. Right. She's blind. Of course she can't see the sun setting.

"It just looks like the sun's starting to set." It seems to come as a surprise for her. I guess she must have been as unaware of the time as I was.

"Sorry, Sora. I didn't mean to keep you from the library for so long." I quickly move to allay her concern.

"Ah, no, it's okay. The library's still open, isn't it?" She pauses, and takes a moment to think on it. It's probably something I should've asked Selphie when I had the chance, but Namine seems likely to know in any case.

"True, it's open until six-thirty during weekdays." A quick glance at my watch confirms I have well enough time to get there.

"Hmm, I might get going in that case. It's been nice talking with you, Namine." She smiles and gives a deep nod, her hands still neatly folded on the table in front of her.

"It was my pleasure. Oh, come to think of it… shall I show you to where the library is?"

"I couldn't possibly ask for more help. I should be able to find it all right." Well, unless my navigation skills fail me, which they have been doing lately.

She gives a warm smile, "It's all right, I was going to be talking to the librarian there in any case. I could introduce you." This gets better and better. It's pretty hard to deny her offer.

"If you're sure, then that'd be great. Thanks." As she stands up to follow me, she takes hold of a straight, retractable cane that had been slipped in the handle of her bag on the floor. Compared to the cane the boy in my class had, Namine's looks much thinner and longer. His must be for support, whereas Namine's is for navigation. Together we leave the peaceful room and enter the empty hallway on the way to the library. Side by side, my pace carefully slowed to match hers, we slowly walk through the hallway. It doesn't take long for us to arrive at the door to the warm-looking room, apparently situated in the center of the floor rather than either wing.

"Ladies first." I add with a hand gesture signaling her to enter. I realize this is futile. Nevertheless, she gives an appreciative smile at the gesture, taking the lead as we file in. To the left is the wooden library counter, with the library proper being on the right. It easily dwarfs my old school's library, with the distinct smell of old books giving the place an almost old-world air. There don't seem to be a lot of students here. Considering the time, it isn't a big surprise; everyone's probably either in the school grounds or the dorms.

"Serah, are you here?" Namine says it to thin air since the librarian doesn't seem to be present and of course, she can't see this. What's unexpected is that it draws a reaction. Something from under the counter thuds against it, followed by a quiet wail.

"Awwww." The origin, apparently the librarian, quickly crawls out and bounces up to extremely rigid attention. "Hi, Namine. How can I help you?" Her voice is strained in a failing attempt to sound casual and she's rubbing the back of her head.

"Good afternoon. What happened just now? I heard a strange sound."

"It's nothing, I just hit my head." The librarian reassures with a bashful look on her face. "See, I dropped an eraser under my desk and while I was looking for it a pencil dropped and when I was looking for both of them you came and surprised me…" The story is laughable at best, yet it's probably true.

"Are you all right? I'm sorry, I couldn't know-"

"It's okay! It's okay! Sorry for making you worry." Hmm… Namine and the librarian seem to have some sort of a relationship. "This is nothing. I've had worse happen to me." She's quick to reverse Namine's apologies, almost frantically trying to push aside the possibility that she could be in any way inconvenienced by bashing her head on the counter. "Yes… worse things have happened. Hehehe…" The girl fidgets with her fingers as Namine doesn't seem to drop her concerned expression, and then she shuffles some papers around the counter for absolutely no reason. A little shorter than Namine, short croppy brown hair, a very troubled look, she seems to fit a library perfectly.

"Ah, Namine! Did you get my message?" The librarian asks, seeming all too eager to change the subject.

"Message? Hmm…" She ponders this question for a bit, before recalling something, "Oh, the two imported books that arrived?"

"Right! Right! They finally came! I can't believe it took so long, but-" Amidst her celebrations, partially for managing to change the topic I'm sure, she notices me from the corner of her eye and freezes on the spot when she does. "Oh no, I'm sorry for not noticing you before! Did you need to check out a book? Or return one? I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The way she can so quickly shift between moods is a little unsettling.

"He's with me." Namine says, "Olette, this is Sora, a new student. Sora, this is Olette, the school librarian." Ah, so it looks like I finally get to say something.

"Pleased to meet you." I greet.

"Sora. Right. Sora. Pleased to meet you, too… Sora." She repeats my name under her breath repeatedly, as if she's trying to engrave it onto her memory so she'll never forget.

I'm probably not that far off.

Namine must have realized that their conversation makes no sense to me, so she turns to me before explaining. "Olette often arranges to import foreign books in Braille for me." She then turns to Olette, "Would you like to tell Sora a little something about the library?" Namine's innocent suggestion is met with an expression of abject terror.

"I… Please Namine, I can't. I don't know what he could be interested in. This is too much responsibility." How it's any responsibility at all I don't get, but her objection is so sincere I don't doubt for a second that she'd rather disembowel herself on the spot than tell me where the light novels are.

"But…" Namine looks like she's about to start, and after seeing Olette's catatonic response, I know I've gotta change the subject. I immediately move myself between the two of them and turn to Olette.

"So… there are a lot of books in Braille here? I attempt to save the day by asking the first thing that pops into my head. It seems to work at least partially, as Olette seems to… not exactly relax, but at least look slightly less tense.

"Well… I think about a third or a fourth of the library is either in Braille or audio." Olette recounts, it makes sense, given all the blind students that'd be here. But if it's only that, how come this library is so big in the first place? I decide to voice my thoughts to Olette, who thinks a bit before answering. "Ummm, well, we get a lot of new books regularly because the library is adequately endowed. That's probably why. They spend more on new books than on my salary, and then I have to organize and shelve them all. It's so troublesome and they weigh so much, I wish I could quit this job." She seems genuinely mad, Namine looks troubled, and I'm just confused.

…

A very awkward silence follows this revelation of too much information.

…

"Umm, I'll go check the aisles then, if you don't mind." It's probably best for all of us if she doesn't keep talking to me. I leave the two of them to explore the rows of books, and my first impression was right. The library is surprisingly big. Ambling down the narrow aisles, I study the spines of the books in random order, occasionally sliding one out to read the blurb, taking it with me if it looks good. In a few moments I have a respectable stack of books in my arms. I guess I'll never be stuck for choice in here. The normality of the library sinks in. Sure, there are large-print and Braille books scattered throughout, but it is what it is: a library. It's as if the calm mood from the room I had tea with Namine in snuck with us in here, unless it was here to begin with. Something about that puts me at ease, just like before. I reach the end of the aisle and find a collection of desks, set up for study or personal reading. Going a little further, through, I discover a nice quiet corner at the back. While the rest of the library has the odd student sitting at a desk either actually reading or stealthily sleeping, the back is pretty much deserted.

As I glance around, I see someone who I recognize sitting on one of several beanbags. It's the dark-haired girl from my class. The one who snuck out of the classroom earlier. She's reading a book, keeping it close to her face which makes her look like she's really into it. From the way she was acting today, I had pegged her as more of a delinquent than a bookworm. In fact, her mysterious disappearance from the class raises all sorts of whys in my head. Intrigue floats slowly but surely towards the surface, and before I know it I'm walking towards the mysterious long-haired girl. I guess there's no harm in introducing myself as I would with anyone else. She's a classmate after all. Walking over to another beanbag. I take a seat and lay my books beside it. The girl starts, looking sacredly up at me from underneath her fringe.

This is the first time I've seen her this close. Underneath her long, dense bangs, I can see that part of her face, at least a third if not a half, is pretty badly scarred. My eyes are immediately drawn to the scars, subconsciously peeking past her hair until they meet her own eyes. For a second, I'm shocked, and divert my eyes to the book in her hands, before I realize that looking away probably only makes it worse. It takes too many seconds to collect myself and remember what I walked up to her for.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." I apologize.

"It… it's okay…" The dark haired girl says, she certainly doesn't look okay, but I let it drop.

"So umm… do you mind if I sit here?" I ask, hoping she'll say yes. I don't know why I'm trying so hard to talk to her. She's just caught my curiosity. She seems to be very uncertain whether it's okay or not for me to sit, but finally she nods, just a little.

"O… Okay." She answers quietly. I take the seat next to her, and she hides herself behind her book. I lean over to see the cover of the book. "Life of Pi"… Never heard of it.

"So… er… sorry again for startling you. I'm Sora." She looks up from her book, stalling a little before replying.

"I… know. We… are in… the same… class…" Her speech is stilted and so quiet that it's barely audible even in the still library.

Somehow I think that my delinquent impression of her was wrong.

"X-X-Xion. I'm… My name… is Xion."

…

I resist the urge to say "that's a nice name" just to have something to say, but really, it's the only thing that I can think of. I feel like an idiot. Everyone here must be used to being different to each other, and here I am being all bothered and fussed about that kind of thing.

"Don't let me interrupt your reading. I'll… just check these books if you don't mind." She nods a little, and sighs a little sigh of relief.

…

So I try to read the covers and the introductions of the books I picked up and she buries her face in her book. Uncomfortable silence consumes us. My eyes still wander to her direction, and I sneak peeks at her flowing hair and the scars it's hiding. After a while I realize that she's doing the same, and only pretending to immerse in the "Life of Pi." But unlike me, her gaze is not inquisitive at all. It darts around like a scared rabbit. When our gazes finally meet, the chain reaction is unstoppable. She stands up forcefully from the beanbag and takes a deep breath.

"I…" She starts.

"I… I…" I sit there, waiting for her move.

"I…?" I ask, trying to put a humorous spin on things. It doesn't work.

"Ivegottagodosomething!" Without warning, Xion takes off and runs towards the counter. Her hare like takeoff catches me so off guard that I don't manage to go after her until she has a good head start. By the time I reach the counter she is nowhere to be seen. Namine and Olette are happily chatting away. Knowing that I won't be able to catch Xion myself, I approach the girls.

"Hey, did you see… er… notice a girl run past here?" I ask them, despite the fact that only one of them could answer.

"Um, maybe… what did she look like?" Olette asks, looking over her shoulder.

"Long, dark hair. Kinda shy. She had… well… some scars… on her… face."

"You wouldn't be talking about Xion, would you?" Namine asks, my description piquing her interest.

"Yeah, that's her. I saw her reading and tried to talk to her, but I think I scared her off or something." I look to Namine, who seems worried.

"Oh dear. Olette, would you excuse me? I had better try and find her."

"S-sure. I'll just hold onto these until you come back." Olette takes the books from Namine's hands and puts them on the counter.

"Um, what's going on?" I ask the two of them. I feel like I've been thrown into the middle of a story, and I'm lost in some kind of conflict.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to explain it to you some other time." Namine apologizes with a meek smile.

"Right. I'll see you later then…" Namine hastily grabs her cane and hurries out of the library, leaving me alone with Olette. "I don't think I'll ever get the hang of this place." I mutter to myself, not expecting a response from Olette. Spekaing of Olette, I need answers. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What did you do?" She asks, sitting behind her desk.

"Nothing! I was just looking for some books and then she got this fit and ran off. The most offending thing I can think of was that I might've looked at her general direction a few times." Olette seems to ponder this for a while, and finally just shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, she is a very timid girl. You have to be very careful around her. She can be very jumpy, I think, and she's not accustomed to talking with other people."

"Isn't that a bit… strange?"

"I wonder… it's just how she is, I think." Olette doesn't sound all that convincing. Then again, maybe this is just the norm here. Everyone has their own problems, or else they wouldn't be here. Although she does bring up a good point.

"Then how should I deal with these people? Forcing myself to act overly casually only makes me feel phony. Like I'm supposed to just ignore the elephant in the room." Olette fidgets, looking like she wants to say something to that, but resists it.

"I think… I think it's an elephant only if you feel that way." I guess she doesn't have a good sense of self-restraint. It makes me smile, and she blushes heavily. "W...what? Did that sound stupid?"

"No no, it sounded really wise. I guess you're right. It's more about me than anyone else." Neither of us has anything to add, so Olette fills the silence by shuffling some papers around. People who have papers on their desks really like doing that.

"Did you find any books?" Olette breaks the silence with a question, "I should be closing soon. I mean… this library should be closing. But I have to do it. I hope that's not too inconvenient for you."

"Oh. Yeah, I want some books, but I left them over there because…"

…

"… I'll just go get my books." I fetch my stack of books from beside the beanbags where Xion and I were sitting and return to the counter.

"Wow. You read a lot, don't you?" Olette points out, seeing the stack of six books I had dropped onto the counter.

"I surprise myself with that too, honestly. At least, when I really think about it. I had a lot of free time earlier this year, so I just kind of… started reading books to fill that time. I couldn't do much else."

"I see." But she doesn't say anything else, and just checks out my books for me.

I guess that is what they call "tact."

STRIDESTRIDESTRIDESTRIDESTRI DESTRIDE

Holding the library books with one arm, I trawl my pocket for the key to the door. A sudden sound from behind startles me, making me nearly drop the books I'm carrying or the key that I almost managed to get into the lock.

"Who is it?" A boy behind me asks. I turn around to see who is talking to me. It's Roxas. He seems to be in a friendly mood, although the light glinting off his glasses in the dark gives him a sinister look.

"It's just me." I say. This makes him pause and lick his lips nervously.

"Who is me? I don't know anyone called me. Are you some new guy again? His voice is suddenly strained and quick. I can't tell if he's joking or not.

"Yes… but we've met before. Yesterday."

"I don't think so, I would remember someone who I met only yesterday. …When was that? What day is it today? I try to ignore him. Is he joking or what? "Prove that we've met before!" He's serious. I can't believe this.

"You live across the hall. You're Roxas." He jumps back, his eyes filled with an uncomprehending fear.

"How do you know my name? Damn, this can only mean one of two things: Either we have met, and you are telling the truth, and I just can't remember it, or you are a spy." He pauses. "A psychic spy." His eyes dart around me, trying to peek into my room, although it's hard to believe he can see anything through those thick glasses. His mood swung from friendly to manic in less than a minute.

"I'm not psychic."

"How do I know that? I'm not a mind reader." Roxas points a finger in my face damningly. "… Unlike you!" I smack his finger out of the way with an irritated huff.

"Stop that, man. We met yesterday. What's wrong with you? I live in this room."

"Lies. If you think you can pass as Sora because I'm legally blind you are sorely mistaken." He wags his finger in my face tauntingly, as if he's punishing a rebellious child. "You don't even look like him. I mean, the resemblance is real, real slim. Maybe at a distance, but who do you think you're kidding?" I want to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Exasperated, I rub my eyes and let out a sigh.

"Stay there." He says, and comes closer, one careful step at a time. I stay still, lest he assault me physically, although I doubt he could do much damage even if he did. "Oh, wait, I see it now. Damn, it really is you!" Sighing again, and then once again for good measure, I step backwards, just in case. "You okay? You look depressed."

"Eh, it's nothing. I just scared some girl off accidentally. Literally too, she actually ran away from me. It was my fault… I think. I'm not really… used to all this yet." I don't know why I'm telling Roxas this, I guess it's just cause he's here.

"A girl? A cute one?" Cute? That's a hard question. She had a nice body and really beautiful hair… but… her face…

I guess it could go either way.

"Yeah, cute I guess."

"I knew it!" Knew what? "There are a lot of cute girls here. A strangely disproportionate amount… I believe this is one of the dark secrets of this school. I tried to warn you man, but did you listen…" I don't remember any warning.

"Dark secrets?"

"Yes, dark secrets. Extremely a black hole. Have you noticed that the number of girls in this school is slightly but significantly higher than the number of boys? It's like… sixty to forty." He turns his head to the left and stares off into the distance at a blank wall. "Why is it like this? I mean, to the untrained eye, it doesn't appear to be that bad, but that's a full cop out." He pauses for a second, adding some kind of dramatic tension, then continues. "One would think that a school with such a huge pool of women would be a man's dream. But no!" He leans close to my face and starts whispering. "What I am about to tell you could blow your mind. Are you ready?" I don't really know where this is going, but I think I won't be missing much by cutting out now.

"No, I am not ready." I only get as far as turning the doorknob before Roxas starts talking again, showing that he doesn't really care if my mind is blown or not.

"I believe that this school is a battleground. The site of a feminist infiltration. The disparity in the number of men to women is a clear sign of how far they have come. In case this cold war turns hot, they will have superiority in numbers. Just another skirmish in the eternal war against the forces of the feminists… They're everywhere. In Twilight Town, women outnumber men. It's not a sixty-forty split, but it's only a matter of time, man…" He covers his face with his hands, as if some tragedy has occurred. "Even in Radiant Garden, women are the majority by a hair. They're building up their numbers. In the past, the buildup of a military has always been the clearest sign of imminent war. Twilight Town is just the first step. Our economy is badass, and the country itself is small and isolated, yet a huge part of the world in terms of political value. The perfect target. They are so cunning… As expected of women. Soon, the day will come, when…" His voice trails off ominously. "That is why you can't trust them. They will string you along, and then kill you, just as they killed me. You will end up **just like me**."

"Oh, hell no." I can't stop myself from blurting it out.

"Hey! What the hell does that mean?!"Roxas yells in indignation.

"You said it, not me." That's the best I can think of.

"So? You're not supposed to say something like that! Damn, so rude." Rude? He's the one that's been keeping me out here for god knows how long listening to his retarded speech about feminists! "Where was I?" Oh, yeah, vast feminist conspiracy." That's it. I've had enough.

"Stop it. Stop! I lost you way, way back there somewhere. Somewhere around 'feminist infiltration'."

"Too hard to follow? It's cool, I have some graphs and stuff in my room. And puppets. You like puppets?" This kid's insane.

"No puppets."

"You don't like puppets, okay. Graphs are still cool, though, right?" He speaks energetically, responding almost before I'm done talking, moving his hands in an animated way as he continues to rant on. This is too crazy. I had him pegged as relatively normal, but it's clear I was wrong.

"Just… shut up. I'm going to bed." With that, I leave him outside and slam my door shut. I don't know if I can fully digest what just happened, so I give up and just go to my room, kicking off my shoes before falling facefirst into bed. The amount of confusion and idiocy I just experienced has me worrying about my own health. Will I turn out like Roxas some day? I shake the thought off by downing some pills. It takes me some time to relax and get up so I can get started on homework. It's because the sheets are cool and comforting against my cheeks, and it feels god just lying there with my eyes closed. The school is like some kind of bizarre and surreal island. It's isolated on top of a mountain, and each person is stranger than the last. I just can't seem to fit in. What irony, one would think that fitting in a place that's made for people who are unfit for anywhere else would be easy.

"Maybe I'm trying too hard." Although I say it, it doesn't help take the edge off, and the words are left echoing off my empty walls. I guess it's not as bad as I expected, though. This place really is more a school and less a hospital pretending it's a school than I thought it would be.

If nothing else, the scenery is beautiful.

I open one eye, seeing the school books and bottles of pills arranged side-by-side on my desktop. Maybe this place is too much like a normal school, after all.

STRIDESTRIDESTRIDESTRIDESTRI DESTRIDE

I feel very tired this morning. Probably because yesterday was an exhausting day. I also woke up earlier than necessary. After saying hi to Selphie, I take my seat and start working on the pages listed on the board. About ten minutes into class, Xion walks in and takes a seat, but no one looks at her. The teacher doesn't even comment on her lateness. He does, however, stop us to say that we're going to break into groups again. I turn to Selphie, hoping that she'll partner with me, but I'm caught off by her… conniving grin. She puts her hands in a neat fist under her chin, and leans her face closer to mine.

"Now, now, Sora. Were you planning on working with me?" She asks cheerily.

"Uh… yeah I guess."

…

"Don't you wanna work... with Xion?" Selphie asks randomly, her grin slowly growing in size.

"Wh-What? Where'd you get that idea?!" I had thought about it, but I don't wanna scare her off again.

"Wahahaha~! You've been staring at her the entire day!" She squeals, catching the attention of a few students, but not loud enough to alert Xion herself. I prepare myself to argue back, but I realize: I have been staring at her. Ever since she came in, I was looking at her. Argh! It's just like the library! She's intrigued me. "Don't worry Sora, I won't speak. A. Word. Have fun!" And with that, she walks towards another friend of hers. I look at Xion, who has yet to start on her assignment, idly playing with her sleeves and looking out the window. Although she's another student, when I watch her, it feels like I'm the only one who can see her. Almost as if she was invisible; sort of hiding in plain sight. Is she being bullied? Is she isolating herself from the rest of the class on her own accord? I see her look over her shoulder towards the classroom's rear door. Suddenly, I hear the bell go off. Was I watching her for that long? I look back at the assignement; luckily, it's just a few pages of reading, which I can just do later. I turn back to Xion to find that her book is exactly where it was thirty minutes ago. I guess she's waiting for someone. What to do… I decide to steel my nerves and confront Xion for a second time. I take a deep breath, and get up from my desk. I still feel bad about yesterday, so I've gotta at least apologize.

"Um… hey there, Xion." I start, with a friendly smile. It probably looks as fake as it feels.

"S… Sora?" Well, at least she remembers my name.

"Hey… I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn't mean to startle you or anything. I'm just new here and thought I should get to know my classmates." As Xion looks up at me, I notice her scarring once more. It's a little bewildering that you can barely notice it from across the room, but it's so noticeable from close up.

"T...that's okay. It… it was my fault." Oh damnit! I'm making her feel bad! Gotta do something!

"Nah, that wasn't anyone's 'fault,' it just kind of happened." She seems to calm down a little, so I continue. "So, are you waiting for someone? I saw you looking at the door before…"

"Y-yes… Namine."

"Oh, you mean, Namine, the blind girl?" Xion only nods in response, and I can't help but wonder if defining peple through their disabilities is a faux pas of the worst kind or just normal here. I guess that explains why Namine took off after her yesterday. "She seems like a nice girl. Are you two friends?"

"Y-yes." As if hoping for Namine to appear, she checks over her shoulder again.

I think I'm making her nervous. Again.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you right now…"

"N-no, that's not it." She looks down at her shoes, biting her lips. "It's just easier if Namine doesn't come here…"

"Oh, because it's hard to get around the classroom?"

"Not… really." She seems to not want to talk about it, so I let it drop. I hear the door open, and turn around, seeing the blond haired girl enter.

"Oh, she's here now." Xion spins around to confirm this. Upon seeing Namine, she moves quickly to the door.

"Namine…"

"Ah, Xion. Good morning. Are you ready to leave?" She asks with a warm smile.

"Y-yes."

"I suppose we'd better be off, then." She turns around to leave, but I feel it's only fair I let my presence known.

"Hey Namine. How are thing? I'm sorry I made you run off yesterday…" She turns back around with a confused and surprised look on her face.

"Oh my, is that Sora? I didn't realize you were here…" It seems that she's a bit embarrassed about being so frank in front of me.

"S-sorry Namine. I thought you realized…" Xion apologizes, gripping her arms tightly around Namine's right arm.

"No, Xion, it's not our fault. Sora, don't worry about yesterday. It was just a misunderstanding. Would you care to have lunch with us?" The change of topic is drastic and unexpected, but then I realize I don't have any lunch plans at all. Selphie has all but ditched me under the pretext of Xion'sprescense. I reply with a "sure" that seems neither excited nor begrudged, and Namine smiles and leaves the room, with Xion close behind. Namine walks beside the wall, letting her cane gently tap against it every now and then. Xion comes along right beside her, so close that she is practically half-hugging her as they go. Although it must make her walking that much harder, Namine takes it in stride. As we turn around the corner of the hallway, something hits me in the chest with the force of a steam train. Xion shrieks a little and my vision briefly goes black. I feel the world dissapear beneath me, and reappear in the form of its collision with my rear end.

"Ouch…" I groan, feeling my tailbone for injuries. Opening my eyes, I see a pair of saucer-like blue eyes looking up at me. They belong to the perpetrator, a short girl who bumped into me and has now fallen down onto the floor with me. She wears a PE uniform and a very worried frown. The former strikes me as a rather strange thing to have on during a lunch break.

More striking than that, though, is that she doesn't have legs.

Or she does, but they aren't flesh and bone. Her pale and very much flesh-and-bone thighs end in shins and feet made of some black metallic or plastic-like material. They look disturbingly artificial and unnatural. It almost makes me forget that my chest is hurting. The girl winces a little, rubbing her nose and jumps up.

"Aw man… Hey, are you all right? I'm sorry about that, really! I wasn't looking where I was going, and you just came out of nowhere. Sorry… Sorry!" She's looking really apologetic, in the hurt puppy way of looking apologetic. I quickly forget about being angry or anything, since hurt puppies are my weak point.

"I-It's okay. Don't worry about i- ouch…"

**Bum Bum.**

I saay that, but there's a stinging pain growing in my chest, and I know that this is about the biggest possible danger for my condition. Don't overexert yourself, don't forget your medication, and most of all, **don't get hit in the chest**.

**Bum Bum.**

I try to rub my solar plexus to chase the pain away, holding my breath in an attempt to hear my heartbeat, as instructed by the doctor in case this ever happened.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. **Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum.

It seems normal…

"Oh my gosh! You're hurt!" The girl's high pitched voice breaks my thoughts, as she suddenly grabs me by the wrist. "I'm gonna get you to the nurse!" Before I can mutter "I'm fine" I find myself being pulled farther and farther away from a startled Xion and a confused Namine. I'm pulled past a dozen stairs and corners before my kidnapper crashes through a door into a pristine room, and starts yelling at the top of her lungs.

"AERITH! AEIRITH!" She squeals, hopping up and down on her appendages for added measure. I feel light headed from the run, and reach the closest chair and sit down. I look around and see that we're in the nurse's room. I pinch the bridge of my nose, hoping that I won't throw up from the sheer adrenaline running through my body. A few moments later, Aerith appears from behind a door.

"My my. What's seems to be the problem?"

"Iwasrunningthroughthehallway becauseIreallyhadtogetthesep apersintotheofficesoIstarted runningandthenIcrashedintoth isguyandthenhestartedbreathi ngreallyheavyandhaaaaaaaaaag rabbinghischestandblinkingal otsoIranoverandbroughthimher eIknowIshouldn'thavebeenrunningI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry."

…

…

…

…

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that again?" The nurse asks, with an entertaining grin.

"Iwasrunningthroughthehallway becauseIreallyhadtogetthesep apersint-" The girl starts again, but the nurse cuts her off.

"It's okay, I understood you the first time." The nurse turns to me, "So…" she takes a moment to remember my name, "Sora. How are you feeling?" I reply with my intended answer to my kidnapper, and she smiles. "Kairi, you've been worrying over nothing. You've probably done more harm than good making him run all the way here." She adds with a small laugh.

"I did? I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msor-"

The nurse interrupts her once again. "Maybe it's best if you two just went back to class."

"Probably." I add, joining the conversation. "We're gonna be late as it is, and I feel perfectly fine."

"O-Okay…" The girl says, and we both leave the room. She turns back to me, her face shoulder length to mine. "So, what's your name?" She asks, looking up at me with what I can only describe as "Bambi eyes".

"Sora." I answer.

"Hi, Sora! I'm Kairi!"

**Baboom! 8246 words in the bank! How about that. We finally get introduced to four new characters, Namine, Xion, Olette, and Kairi. Each one will have some kind of impact on this story, Kairi and Olette the most. Aerith will play a major role in the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned for that. We're still in the introduction chapters, which will just be setting the stage for the branching paths. Sorry for the later than expected update, my computer crashed while I was working, making me lose six pages of work. Pretty peeved about that. Well, until next time!**

**~Breaking Barriers.**


	4. Exercise

**In this chapter, get ready to be introduced to a new character! So without further ado, here's chapter three. Hope you enjoy.**

**Last time on Stride…**

**I try to find the library, and find something else.**

I mindlessly let the door open to its full extent, taking in the sight of the solitary figure taking center stage in the otherwise abandoned room. The situation steals my voice, leaving me standing at the doorway staring at the beautiful girl.

**I accidentally scare a girl away.**

"Ivegottagodosomething!"

**Roxas reveals to me the "dark secrets" of this school.**

"I believe that this school is a battleground. The site of a feminist infiltration."

**I collide with a rampaging girl on the way to lunch.**

As we turn around the corner of the hallway, something hits me in the chest with the force of a steam train.

**And I get to see the nurse again.**

"My my. What's seems to be the problem?"

xxSTRIDExx

The teacher seems like an okay person despite the weird first impression I got, and the material is relatively interesting. However, the way he teaches is really bizarre. It's as if he expects that everyone is a natural genius. When the final bell sounds, I realize that there is still a lot of time left in the day, and I'm left wondering what to do. It's odd, at the hospital I had twenty-four hours a day of free time, but filling the considerably shorter hours feels difficult. Everyone else leaves, and I'm left alone with the teacher. Zexion is examining the assignment sheets we were working on earlier, marking them with a red pen. Raising his eyes from his papers briefly, he notices me and furrows his brow.

"What is it, Hikari?" He asks, without taking his eyes off the papers. I jump at his addressing me, but I guess it's natural to spark some conversation since there is nobody else around.

"Umm… nothing. Thinking about what I'd do after school." The teacher slowly puts the cap on the pen he is holding and arranges his papers into a stack, clacking it against the desk twice. He seems very methodical and for a brief moment I'm reminded of Namine, but the teacher is more unhurried and relaxed, much more routined.

"You have no plans?"

"No. I considered joining a club, but don't know what kind of club would interest me."

"Go observe a meeting of someone else's club. Might pique your interest."

"I guess… I just…" But I don't know how to continue from there. Zexion looks at me in a way that makes me quickly want to take the words back to avoid a conversation. But I can't, so I have to forge ahead. "I just don't know how to deal with people. I mean, the other students. I'm talking to people and everything, so it's not that I'd be isolated or anything. I just don't know what to think about… the disabilities. It's like… it feels that I'm being impolite if I pay attention to them, and it's weird to ignore them. Damned if I do, damned if I don't." The teacher scratches his cheek absentmindedly, looking very unresponsive.

"These things are only an issue if you make them one. You can talk normally with someone, even if they are blind or something. Try to look behind the superficial. There's not a single student here who isn't just a normal kid behind whatever they might seem at first glance." He says the same thing as Namine did. I know they're right, but it's hard. How can you not consider, for example, Namine's blindness? Or Xion… it's not like you can ignore her face.

"But…" I'm interrupted by the door of the classroom suddenly slamming open.

"Teacher~!" Selphie crashes in, hand straight in an enthusiastic greeting, her voice loud and lively enough to wake the dead from their graves. She starts towards the teacher's desk with her bouncing step, hands energetically swinging with the rhythm. Zexion, visibly dismayed at the interruption and Selphie in general, slumps in his chair.

"Tilmitt." Selphie stops in her tracks and looks around cluelessly, as if she's sensing from his tone that something's wrong but has no idea what.

"Yes~?"

"We have talked about volume control before."

"Yes~!" But she doesn't lower her voice at all, and the teacher just rubs his eyes.

"So, what is it?" asks Zexion with a strained voice.

"I… we need help! We are running out of supplies for the festival stands! This is a distress!" She waves a pink slip of paper she's holding around.

"So… go get more supplies from the art room. What's the problem with that?"

"Plywood! Plywood is always the problem! Last time we wanted more there was only a little, but that time we just took it all and went with that. Now there's like none left there, so do you know where there is some?"

"I don't understand. How would I know?" asks Zexion with a monotone voice. He looks like he is in great pain, frowning with his entire essence, and Selphie doesn't get it at all. Looking at the two of them communicate is terrible, like looking at a man being tortured by drilling his skull open while blasting pop music at it's loudest. "I'm afraid I have no idea if there is any plywood in the school, let alone where it would be if there was any."

"Awww… what should I do?" complains Selphie, pouting and stomping her foot on the ground.

"Perhaps you should try to find Mr. Nomiya? I'm quite sure he would know where to find everything you need. You'd have to pry them from his cold, dead hands, but that's a different matter." Zexion adds a grimace to his features at the mention of this "Mr. Noyima".

"Aaaah~! I don't have time! We are so busy!" She holds her head with both of her hands, looking as despairing as it's possible for a person like her. Without even noticing, she crumples the note she's holding against her hair. "I shouldn't even be fetching these things, there's so much to do and we are fall behind the schedule!" Zexion looks at her gravely and then, suddenly smiles. Smiling doesn't really fit his face. I think it'd be better if he didn't.

"I wonder if you could get some temporary help? He switches to staring at me with a focused stare, with a hard expression, as if trying to say, "go make some friends."

…

"Eehhh… I guess I can give you a hand." I suggest.

"You can? Thanks, Sora, you're really nice!" Selphie squeals, hugging me with all her energy. She pauses, does a double take and then points at me with her finger, yelping "Ah!" and looking very puzzled. "Come to think of it, what's Sora doing here? Class is over, you should be having fun~!"

"We just had a little chat." answers Zexion, glancing through his school papers.

"Oh no! It's not detention is it? Are you in trouble, Sora?"

"No, I'm not."

"Is Sora-chan in trouble, teacher?" Sora-chan? What the fu-

"No, he's not." Zexion sighs deeply and I feel that I have to help Selphie to get her off the teacher's back.

"So what do you need?" I ask.

"Here's a list. I can try to find the plywood from somewhere if there's none in the art room." Selphie offers me the note she's holding. I take it, hesitating a bit. "Thanks, Sora~! Try to be quick, we are in a stall-building streak now, we must hurry hurry hurry! She bounces out of the room, leaving me and the teacher looking at each other with something that feels like a silent agreement.

"Well, there you have it, Hikari. You have something to do now."

Please don't sound so smug.

Looking at the list with a number of items ranging from paint to plywood, all written with small, neat handwriting that is undoubtedly Selphie's, I heave a sigh.

"I'll be going then." Waving the long list limply at the teacher, I exit to the hallway.

xxSTRIDExx

The classrooms closest to ours are designated belonging to classes 3-1 and 3-2 on the right side, and 3-4 on the left side, each door looking exactly the same. Further down the corridor still with identical doors, are rooms that I didn't think were used for classes.

I guess the art room is not a classroom as such. I carefully push open the furthest door, and peek in. It's a classroom, but it seems rather badly kept or not in use. Am I in the right place?" Desks and chairs are all around the room, a thin layer of dust settled on them. There are some easels in the corner so at least this looks like the right place. The room is flushed in sunlight from the big windows, shadows creeping all over the desks. Specks of dust are dancing in the stagnant air, making the beams of light almost visible. Jokingly, I call into the empty room.

"Anybody ho-" Something catches my eye and I stop mid-sentence.

Sitting on a desk is a short-haired girl; curiously wearing a boy's uniform, with a fork between her toes, a morsel of food stuck firmly on the end. This odd way of dining seems to be caused by her apparent lack of hands, but her presence here is what takes me aback even more. How did I miss her before? She's sitting in a corner very still, but I still somehow took her as a part of the furnishing or a stature at first glance.

I'm not being too observant today, as a whole.

The girl seems to be frozen in place, staring at me with her huge eyes like a rabbit in headlights. She's staring at me, her mouth wide open, ready to accept the fork. I'm staring at her, my mouth wide open, suddenly remembering I didn't finish my sentence and trying to think if I should. The weird stalemate keeps us both stunned into silence, punctuated only by the wall clock ticking rhythmically.

"Hello." The strange girl says. She stuffs the forkful into her mouth, and is now staring at me expectantly while chewing. This is a bit awkward.

"Umm… hello. I was told to pick up some supplies from here. For some festival stalls I think. I didn't think there would be someone here."

"There isn't. That's why I'm here, too."

She picks up another forkful.

"Doesn't that mean you're here, then?" I ask, which raises her eyebrows, as if she was suspecting my observation was false.

"You are pretty observant. I guess it does. But who are you?" This girl is pretty straightforward, isn't she?

I'm Sora, Sora Hikari. I just transferred in on Monday."

"I'm Yuffie. Kisaragi Yuffie. Yuffie Kisaragi. I won't shake hands with you, but at least we know who we are now. That's very nice." Her deadpan manner of talking makes it hard to determine whether she's joking about shaking hands or not. It kinda bothers me, joking about these matters doesn't feel appropriate at all. While I'm trying to figure what's appropriate and whether this girl is, she seems to have lost interest in me and is now gazing yearningly back at her food.

"Can I finish my lunch? If you don't mind me, I won't mind you. If you need to get your stuff, the supplies are at the back."

"Go right ahead. But… lunch? School's already over for the day."

"What word would you use then?" Yuffie asks. "There is no word for a meal you eat after lunch but before dinner, right? It bothers me very much too, but I don't really know what I should say."

"I don't think you're supposed to eat a meal between lunch and dinner to begin with."

"But I'm hungry now and my delicious boxed lunch would go to waste otherwise."

…

"I have curry. It's very delicious." With much decisiveness, Yuffie once again picks up the fork between her toes and with at least as much impoliteness, she points it straight at me. "So, Hikari, what brings you to this place?"

"Like I said, I was told to look for these things."

"No, the school. From outside you look fine. Is your problem inside? I come to a full stop, opening my mouth but not getting a word out.

"I…"

"I can guess. I am good at guessing. Better than most people." Yuffie cuts me off before I can answer her question, or skirt around it somehow. I don't know which I would've done. I froze in front of this issue again. I haven't even told anyone here about my condition, or maybe it's only because it hasn't really come up. I do get the feeling that not making issues of this is a part of the social code here, as the teacher said. I wonder if people here could relate? Probably not any better than any normal person could. I can't relate to Namine's circumstances, or Kairi's either.

Naturally, while I go through this in my head, Yuffie keeps considering what my condition could be, with an overtly contemplative look on her face. She puts her fork between her lips and leans back, looking at the ceiling as if the answer was written up there. A beam of light illuminates her face from the window side, creating a mask of dark shadow on the other side.

"I don't think it's anything in your head, and something in your guts would be boringly ordinary, like this lunch of mine. And less delicious. **The problem must be in your pants!**"

This messed-up Sherlock Holmes statement and the sheer lack of tact it was delivered with catches me completely off guard. I think I might've reeled back even physically as Yuffie's eyes widen in revelation and astonishment.

"So I was right! There's something wrong with your tackle, isn't there?" Still partially in shock but recognizing the need to reply something, I spit out the first thing that I can think of.

"No! Nothing like that! I have a heart problem. Arrhythmia."

…

I said it. More like blurted it out, but I said it. The girl in front of me purses her lips together and glowers at me, looking very disappointed.

"How boring. Trouble in the pants would have been much more scandalous." What's with this reaction?

"I'm sorry to let you down."

"I forgive you. Just, I collect people, and a person with an erectile problem would've been really great."

"Collect people?"

"People with different problems."

"Huh, so you just… like, go around asking people what's wrong with them?"

"Pretty much."

"I see."

…

With little left to say, Yuffie resumes her lunch and the conversation dies away, but I keep thinking about what was said. It's the first time I told anyone else about my condition. All the other people have either known about it already, or heard about it from someone else. Or didn't need to know about it, like every other student here, so far. Should I have told it as a natural part of introductions? Is it expected of me?

"_Hi, I'm Sora. I have a very serious heart condition."_

Is that how I'm supposed to go around introducing myself from now on? As if our disabilities would define us. What a disgusting thought.

Or maybe this Kisaragi girl just has an unnatural interest in such things. As I walk to the back of the room to pick up the items on Selphie's list, a chance to study the girl opens from the corner of my eye. Her hair is black. The type comparable to a raven or a scarecrow. The boy's uniform and the lack of arms make her look very thin, almost scrawny. She is not particularly pretty except for her murky yellow eyes which flicker restlessly from below her short bangs, even when she eats. The distance and the shadows make it seem like they don't reflect sunlight at all, but instead absorb all of it within them like deep wells. She moves her feet almost as deftly as a normal person would use their arms. However, I can see how this sight could discomfort people, especially while eating. It makes me feel a bit uncomfortable at least. I hesitate to think about the word "unnatural", but it's too late now, isn't it?

I keep searching the cabins and shelves for Selphie's things, but after enough time passes the silence grows too uncomfortable, so I try to force some conversation out of this strange girl.

"So, do you always eat alone and this late? Or do you get the occasional visitor?" I ask, filling the empty room.

"Visitors… maybe you are my first occasional visitor. But I don't always eat alone either. Sometimes I eat with a certain person on the roof, if she's not horsing around."

"Horsing?"

"She likes to do sports."

"Oh."

And that's all I can think of to say.

Both of us fall silent again as Yuffie forks the last bits of her meal to her mouth. I look down at my haul and double check it with Selphie's list. It seems I have everything except plywood.

"Umm… so, I think I have all the things now."

"That's very nice for you. Don't feel obliged to stay. I was about to take a nap anyway. You need to do whatever you are going to do with that stuff anyway, right? Or perhaps you like to watch girls sleeping?"

"Ehh…" I'm not sure what to make of this, but Yuffie looks serious. "Even if I did, I think I have to be going. I… I'll catch you around, Kisaragi."

"You can call me Yuffie. I feel that our relationship is at this point good enough to warrant this much." I was already turning to make my exit, but she draws me back in.

"Fine, then I'm Sora."

"Then you are."

…

Yuffie looks at me hard in the eyes but that intimidating feeling you get when someone stares at you isn't there. It's like she's actually not looking at me at all. She blinks a couple of times, and I can't figure out why a pause like this just popped between us out of nowhere.

"See you later, Sora." There's something like a tiny smile there in her face, maybe.

I quietly back out of the room. As I shut the door in front of my face, I whisper to myself. "What an interesting person."

From inside, I hear a muffled, sing-song voice.

"I heard tha~t!"

xxSTRIDExx

The sound of an alarm pulls me out of a fitful slumber and into the unpleasant state of wakefulness. I linger under the blanket for a few minutes, gathering energy to rise up while making excuses as for why I already haven't. Honestly, I wouldn't mind staying here for all day. School is surprisingly exhausting after a long pause, and the culture shock still has not faded, I think. Still, despite getting an impression that skipping class is easy here, I don't think they're going to let me get away that easily. And the nurse is bound to keep breathing down my neck with the talk of exercising as well. So eventually I do rise up, swallow the morning medications and put on my old soccer clothing.

Thanks to my condition, I was exempted from taking part in gym classes at the academy, so I didn't get issued a gym outfit. I'd order some to cover such a contingency, but wearing my old soccer clothes is nostalgic. I can't use them for that anymore, so maybe they can get a new life this way. A bit like me. After all, if I'm going to start taking care of myself, I can't afford to slack around. I'll start from the basics. Basics which include keeping the rest of my body in shape along with what little I can do to strengthen my heart. Maybe then I can go back to something approaching a normal life; or at least something where I'm less likely to fall over dead at any moment.

I'm surprised to discover that I'm not the only one present at the track. Not just that, but it's a face I recognize. The prosthetic-legged girl who bowled me over in the hallway yesterday is running on the track lithely, like a half-mechanical cheetah.

What was her name again? It was a short one, but I can't remember.

She seems to be running laps at a somewhat easy lope, her prosthetic legs clacking rhythmically on the hard track surface. I wonder what reason she has for running this early in the morning. Maybe it's something akin to mine, and the nurse is oppressing the poor maiden to jog just like he's oppressing me. I certainly wouldn't be here if not for the nurse's constant prompting. And even with things being like they are, it's only because I wanted to get it out of the way early. The fact that I would be less likely to encounter someone who would witness my pitiful attempts to get in shape was merely a happy accident. I'd leave, but it seems that my former assailant noticed me on her last lap. She waves at me cheerfully and jogs over.

"Good morning! Your name's Sora, right?" She grins, seemingly pleased that she'd remembered my cheery, bubbly voice charges something in my memory, and I remember the redhead's name. "You may not remember me. Kairi? I knocked you over in the hall yesterday and brought you to the nurse's office."

"How could I forget such a er, blunt introduction?" Kairi has the decency to look vaguely apologetic for a moment before giggling.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Again."

"Hmm, well, so long as you don't make a habit of it, I suppose I'll be fine."

"Great!" I'm not sure she realized I was joking.

"So, what are you doing here?"

Kairi strikes a dramatic pose.

"Training!"

"For what?"

"Track!"

"Ah, I see. You're on the track team, then?" She nods enthusiastically.

"Yep! I'm one of the better runners, too!" And modest about it, too. "Hey, you should join up! It's good exercise, you know." I think that much is probably out of the question for me.

"Nah, I'm not even sure that I really like running all that much. Plus, I'm not sure if I'm even all into organized sports." It's true. I never even got that much into soccer. I mean I'd run around with my friends and all, but that was really the only reason I ever played. It wasn't for the glory to be found on the field, that's for sure. She seems to understand my meaning.

"I see, I see. Not that into the whole organization thing. But now that you're here, I guess we're going to run together, huh?"

"What? Er, sure, I guess." Kairi seems pleased.

"Are you going to warm up?" She asks me.

"Real men don't warm up."

"Oh no, you always should warm up! Bad Sora! Bad!" She scoldes me enthusiastically, but then smiles and leans closer, a sly smirk on her face. "I hate warming up too." She then laughs suddenly. "Heck, and I don't even have to stretch my legs!" As if to confirm her statement she bounces up and down a couple of times, giving a passing impression of standing on a pair of springs. Her legblade things seem to be quite elastic. "Let's go!" She yanks me by the arm, which brings flashbacks of our first meeting, and drags me onto the track.

So we both take off around the track, and I can immediately see that she wasn't lying about being good at running. Kairi moves fluidly, throwing herself into the run with a sort of wild abandon. I find myself concentrating more on running properly. Hands spread apart, right? And something about landing on the balls of your feet, rather than the heels…

I try to match my stride to hers, but it's pretty difficult. Apparently I'm not very good at running. Maybe Kairi could help me with that sometime. I'm really not feeling up to more than a couple of laps today, and slow to a walk pretty quickly. Kairi keeps running, and doesn't seem to notice I've stopped until she passes me a second time. She quickly skids to a halt, breathing steadily in contrast to my own somewhat gasping demeanor.

"Finished already?" She asks me as I hang my head in disgrace. The disappointment in her voice is noticeable, what am I supposed to say to her?

"Heh, yeah." Oh great going Shakespeare! "I'm not in very good shape right now." Despite my lame excuse, Kairi nods, and then grins at me again.

She seems to do a lot of smiling.

"Well, the important thing is you started, right? Next time, you just have to try to hold out longer, and then longer, and longer, and eventually you'll be great!"

"I'll keep that in mind. But I think right now I'm going to get ready for class. Shouldn't you?"

Kairi shrugs unconcernedly.

"Nah, I've got plenty of time."

I notice she's not wearing a watch.

"Are you sure?"

Another careless shrug.

"Not really… but I've got to finish my routine! See you later, Sora!"

"Er, yeah. See ya." I'm not sure whether this morning's experiment was a success or a failure, but I'll admit that I do feel slightly good about getting out there this morning. And like Kairi said, I just need to keep at it in order to get better, right? Practice makes perfect, or something like that. It's nice at least to feel like I've taken some semblance of control over my own health.

I'll have to try to keep this up.

xxSTRIDExx

After a rather uneventful shower, I get dressed and head over to class. I find myself arriving earlier than expected, as Xion and I are the only ones there. As soon as I'm about to try and start up a conversation with her, a triumphant yell crashes into the room.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah~!" Selphie runs across the room, bolting over chairs, and lands right in front of mine. "Hiya, Sora-chan!"

"Stop it with the nickname."

"Aww… you're not fun So-chan…" Selphie starts pouting, kicking my desk in mock or genuine dissapointment, I can't tell. She suddenly breaks out of her "depression" and starts grinning like a mad man. "Thanks for getting the supplies, by the way! Ya really helped me out." I recall the events that occurred after I left Yuffie's domain. I stopped by the office and left the pile of supplies there, addressing then to Selphie. Glad she got them. Before I can reply, another girl comes into the room and draws Selphie away from my desk to talk about girl stuff, I guess. The rooms slowly fills up and Zexion comes in last, starting the class with the scratching of chalk rubbing against the board.

The classes end quickly, and I find myself collapsing on the bed as soon as I get back to my dorm.

xxSTRIDExx

**Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep**

My morning alarm goes off, and I flail about uselessly for a while until I remember that I'd decided to give morning runs another shot. I don't know if this was my greatest idea, but I'm determined to keep going. This is about my health, after all. Sure, things haven't been great lately for me, but that hasn't made existence so intolerable that I'm not going to try everything I can to stay healthy. Besides, it's all about asserting some control over this thing, right?

If I can manage this, well, I can manage anything. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Once again, it would appear that I'm not alone in my run. Kairi has apparently been here for some time. It looks like she's already worked up a good sweat. Just when the hell does she come down here, anyway?

"Oh, it's you! I'm surprised to see you again!" Kairi acknowledges my presence with a coy smile and a wave.

"Why's that?" I ask, casually stretching my arms.

"Well, not many people actually manage to come back for a second try." She frowns, seemingly annoyed by a passing thought. "Like the rest of the track team, for instance. Still, it was only supposed to be on a volunteer basis, so it's not that big of a shock. And I guess it's pretty early in the morning…" A shrug, and suddenly it appears that she's forgotten what she was talking about. Her frown disappears entirely, and she seems to snap back to her previous train of thought.

"So! Come on, then!" She shouts, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What?"

"You're here to run again, right?"

"Well, yes."

"So, come on!"

I find myself suddenly grabbed and yanked onto the track. Things seem to be set on mirroring yesterday's run. That is, I seem to be struggling, while Kairi moves with effortlessness that I find enviable. It's bothersome, to be so easily worn out. I know I should be patient, work toward things gradually, but…

It's difficult to stay positive about this.

We round the track and start on our second lap. Kairi seems to have grown impatient keeping pace with me, and begins to pull away.

This is where I gave out yesterday.

Will I be able to do more?

…

What am I doing here?

Am I really just going to fold and let Kairi pull ahead?

I speed up.

The second lap's done quickly, and without even considering it I keep going. Kairi looks back over her shoulder at me and grins.

"Still going?" She taunts with a sly grin and a wink.

"Wouldn't *pant* want you *pant* to think I'm outta *pant* shape…" The girl laughs, without breaking her stride, no less, and speeds up even more. Well, if this is the way we're going to play things…

I increase my own pace as well.

I can feel my lungs burning, and my legs are starting to question just what the hell I think I'm doing. Lactic acid screams in my muscles, but I close my ears. I can't let myself fall behind, because that would be a loss. The rational voice in my head mildly inquires just when we started a competition. I'd answer it, but I'm having a lot of trouble thinking at present.

She's so **fast**.

How the hell does she keep it-

**Bum Bum.**

It's like a sting pulling at my chest, a choking feeling of narrowness and pain. Before I can think of anything else other than "Oh shit," the track disappears from under my feet. I stumble, one hand shooting down to clutch at my chest, the other hitting the track to keep me from falling on my face. Kairi whirls around and her eyes widen.

"Sora!" She yells at me, sprinting from the other side of the track. "What's wrong?"

"Nngh-Nothing, just…"

**Bum Bum.**

Keep your breathing steady.

**Bum Bum.**

Calm down. Don't panic.

**Bum Bum.**

Don't panic.

"Do you need me to get the nurse?" Kairi asks me with a hesitant voice.

I close my eyes, shutting out the outside world.

**Bum Bum.**

My heart struggles to regain its rhythm.

Slowly, the pain in my chest begins to subside.

Soon it's gone like nothing happened.

It was… nothing? No, something happened there.

I open my eyes again and glance at a very worried Kairi.

"I think I'm fine…" My voice sounds weird, even to myself, oddly even and matter-of-fact. It makes me frown.

"I don't think you are." She seems to come to a decision, and nods to herself. "Right. You're coming with me. I'm taking you to the nurse." Kairi grabs my arm and drags me up. I feel a bit wobbly, but I refuse the shoulder she offers for support. I'm a bit embarrassed I have to be supported by a disabled girl half my size. I'd really rather not have Kairi concerned about me, but it seems to be too late. Heck, I'd rather not have anyone concerned about my condition, though at this point, it seems to be too late for that as well. I'd like to be able to deal with the whole thing on my own, without being a bother to anyone else.

While I'm wishing for things, I'd rather not have this condition in the first place.

xxSTRIDExx

"Nurse!" Kairi crashes into her office without knocking, but it doesn't alarm the nurse in the least.

"Good morning, sunshine. What's up?' The nurse asks calmly, not taking her eyes off of the magazine she's reading. Sunshine? Anyway, she calmly flips the page of her magazine, but lays it down after following Kairi's gaze to me looming in the doorway. "Sora? What brings you here?"

"We were running an he stumbled over and started grabbing at his chest and I thought I'd come get you and make him wait there but he said he was okay but then I thought you should see him anyway and-" Kairi's tirade is interrupted, thankfully, by Aerith's calm voice of reason.

"Easy there, Kairi, calm down. Sora, what happened?"

"I dunno, we were just running, and then my chest started hurting like that time before. But it went away after a few seconds. It was just a flutter or something." The nurse frowns, as if to say that "just a flutter" is an oxymoron.

"I didn't mean quite this when I suggested to get some exercise. You've got to be more careful, Sora."

"I was being careful, I just…" Come to think of it, "I just got into a race with a member of the track team" doesn't seem like a well reasoned as I thought it would.

"You just what?" The nurse asks me, hoping I finish my sentence, which I'm not looking forward to doing.

"Er… that is… I was racing Kairi."

…

"Kairi, is this true?"

Kairi fidgets, looking adorable contrite.

"Um, well…" Finally she can't seem to bring herself to say it aloud, and merely nods. The nurse sighs and rubs at her forehead with one hand tiredly.

"Kairi, you've got to be more sensitive to the limits of others! I don't know if he told you, but Sora has a bad heart, and getting him to race you was incredibly irresponsible."

"Er, actually, I started it." I confess, rubbing my hand on the back of my head in the attempt of looking… I dunno.

…

The nurse is stunned by my statement.

"You WHAT?"

"We were just running, and Kairi started to pull away, and so I uh, sped up to catch her." I explain, hoping it sounds less far-fetched out loud than it does in my head.

It doesn't.

The nurse stares at the ceiling, mutters a prayer for patience to some god or another, and looks back down at the both of us.

"So, you're **both** stupid. That's a comfort, I guess." She rubs her face, shaking her head and taking a sip of her coffee. "Now come on, Sora. I've got to make sure your heart's not going to explode or something." I dutifully obey, and follow her to the adjacent room where we ascertain that I am, in fact, not going to keel over and die.

"So, how does it feel?" She asks me, holding a stethoscope to my chest.

"I don't know. Nothing much. Tired, but it might be just from the exercise."

"You should stay here for a few hours and rest, and we'll see how you feel after that." I'm not about to object, so I lie down on the infirmary bed. A thoroughly miserable Kairi comes in after getting an earful from the nurse in the other room. I couldn't hear what he said through the closed door, but I'm sure it wasn't pleasantries.

"Look, I'm really, really sorry." She apologizes to the ground, pouting profusely. "I should've been more careful."

"Hey, you didn't know. It's not your fault." She looks awfully down and sorry, and my reassurances don't do anything much to cheer her up.

"I want to make it up to you." Again with that decisive nod. "So you have to come to lunch with me. I'll bring it for you, okay? Something really, really good!" I start with a "You don't have to…" but then shut up and just nod at her when I see her face. "Good! We meet on the roof."

"We?"

"Yep! The weather's nice now, so the roof's a great spot for lunch, you know."

"I see."

"You'll come, right? You wouldn't deny me the chance to make it up to you, would you?" She asks, holding a hand behind her back and one on her chest, with a sly smirk.

"Of course not."

"Great! See you there!"

xxSTRIDExx

I stay afloat somewhere between asleep and awake, feeling completely drained. Not only my body, but all of me is limp and paralyzed, apart from my senses. I swallow with difficulty and then try to lie as still as I can, which in this state is not a very hard thing to do. The nurse is shuffling around on the other side of the curtains she drew to give me privacy. I can see her shadow shifting about in the sunlight. She opened the window of her office. It's windy outside.

The clean white curtains flutter in the breeze in a heavy, lazy motion, like waves. Light sifts through them slowly, half absorbing into the fabric. I close my eyes. The breeze of my face feels like the soft fabric of the curtains. I listen to the sound of my heartbeat for a moment, trying to shut out the sound of the nurse tapping away on her computer, and my own heavy breathing.

It's steady.

Damn it. Not even a week and I end up like this again. I really screwed up this time. Should've known better than to play the half-baked sports star in front of a real one. And why did I try to act brave, like that heart flutter was no big deal, even when it was obvious that it was? It was just a reflex, to push it away, to keep it inside.

I didn't want it to happen.

I didn't want Kairi to see it.

**Argh!**

Stupidstupidstupid.

I have to be more careful, or I will end up in the hospital again, or worse.

…

Dead…

That's my final thought before I give in to the tiredness.

**Whoooo. There's chapter three, done and ready. This one gave me the most problems yet, not because of the actual chapter, but rather my lack of time. I've been getting home at 11:00 to midnight for the past six days, thanks to extra curricular drama performances. So I haven't had much time to work on this. Hopefully the next update will be out sooner.**

**Word Count: 6,412**

**Next chapter…**

**Eventually the torrent subsides and I step tentatively out into the hallway. Only to be met by Kairi, who comes flouncing down the hallway like a cannonball.**

"**I thought I'd go shopping while I was outside. I need supplies to continue the fight against the vast feminist conspiracy."**

"**She's that friend of yours?"**

"**I didn't know you were this person, Kairi."**

…**surprisingly, thought, she's there, absorbed completely in a fairly thick book. I decide against intruding on her like last time and get back to finding reading material.**

**I wonder why I can't shake the feeling of being an outsider like Alice, despite most everyone being hospitable and friendly with me.**

**Splatters of white and green paint adorn her nose and chin respectively, but her smile is wide, as it seems it always is. She leans closer to me, amplifying the feeling she is examining me.**

**Haha, hope these sections will keep you held over a bit. Next chapter will be out in a week. I promise. Ya hear me? I never break my promises. Next week. So, while you're waiting, leave a review if you liked the story or if you have anything you wanna ask, comments, concernes, blah blah blah. See yah.**

**~Breaking Barriers**


	5. Social Links

**Anyone complaining about me not keeping my promise can go straight to hell. Wasn't expecting a fifteen-page essay due in three days for Physics. In this chapter, there's some Kairi and Yuffie interaction, a talk with Zexion, and a scandal revealed. Hope you enjoy!**

**Last time on Stride…**

**I help out the student council.**

"Eehhh… I guess I can give you a hand."

**I make a new fr… acquaintance.**

"I'm Yuffie. Kisaragi Yuffie. Yuffie Kisaragi. I won't shake hands with you, but at least we know who we are now. That's very nice."

**She accuses me of… er…**

"I don't think it's anything in your head, and something in your guts would be boringly ordinary, like this lunch of mine. And less delicious. **The problem must be in your pants!**"

This messed-up Sherlock Holmes kind of statement and the sheer lack of tact it was delivered with catches me completely off guard. I think I might've reeled back even physically as Yuffie's eyes widen in revelation and astonishment. "So I was right! There's something wrong with your tackle, isn't there?"

**I decide to get some exercise, and meet a familiar red head in the process.**

"You may not remember me. Kairi? I knocked you over in the hall yesterday and brought you to the nurse's office."

**And I decide to come back for more…**

"Oh, it's you! I'm surprised to see you again!"

…**against my better judgement.**

It's like a sting pulling at my chest, a choking feeling of narrowness and pain. Before I can think of anything else other than "Oh shit," the track disappears from under my feet. I stumble, one hand shooting down to clutch at my chest, the other hitting the track to keep me from falling on my face.

**I meet the****nurse… AGAIN.**

"So, you're **both** stupid."

**I'm invited to lunch as an apology.**

"I want to make it up to you." Again with that decisive nod. "So you have to come to lunch with me. I'll bring it for you, okay? Something really, really good!" I start with a "You don't have to…" but then shut up and just nod at her when I see her face. "Good! We meet on the roof."

**And I come to a conclusion.**

And why did I try to act brave, like that heart flutter was no big deal, even when it was obvious that it was? It was just a reflex, to push it away, to keep it inside.

I didn't want it to happen.

I didn't want Kairi to see it.

**STRIDE**

I fell asleep. For how long? What time is it? I'm feeling a little lightheaded and I keep blinking compulsively. Pushing the curtain aside, I squint my eyes against the unfiltered light pouring in from the window. The texture of the canvas feels nothing like the wind did before. The nurse looks up from her work, sitting exactly where she was before.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, never looking away from her papers. As for her question, I can't really tell, so I don't answer her. I'm feeling a bit groggy from falling asleep at such a weird time, hopefully I don't look too weird.

"What time is it?" I ask, using my hand to shield myself from the glare coming from the window. The nurse looks at her wristwatch before answering. Things seem to happen in slow motion.

"Quarter past ten." she answers. I try to think for a moment what that means, but I'm not really sure. "You didn't answer my question, Sora."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I reassure, and I'm not exactly lying. I don't feel like dying, anyway.

"Climb down from that bed then, and let's see how you're doing. Don't…" I try to do exactly that, only to sway dizzily when I move too fast. The nurse moves to support me by an arm and sighs. "…stand up too quickly, is what I was going to say. Just sit there, I'll check your pressure to make sure."

My good intentions sure lasted for a long time. I shut up, embarrassed with myself, while the nurse gets busy with an old-fashioned contraption attached to my arm After a couple of minutes, she puts it away, looking neither pleased nor unhappy.

"You're all right. Head stopped spinning?"

"Yeah."

"Good. And how are the contents doing? You didn't show very good judgment out there, Sora." I swallow the retort I was going to make. It's what I was thinking myself, but hearing it stated by somebody else makes me want to protest. What she's saying is not pleasant to hear, but it doesn't make her any less right.

"No, ma'am," she nods, still looking as neutral as she was before. It would've been easy to be angry at her if she said, "told you so" or something, but she doesn't.

"I can try and help you to keep your health, but ultimately the last call lies with you. Hopefully this little episode will be something that'll remind you of that." she turns away from me to take something from her desk, before turning back to me. "Here's a note for your teacher. To avoid an interrogation." I take the slip of paper she's offering and then make my leave. I can't really think of anything else to say, not that I really want to. Right when I think I'm free, she rings one last message.

"Stay out of trouble, you hear me? I don't think it was anything but a scare, but next time could be different."

I hear you.

**STRIDE**

There's some way to get to the school building straight from the auxiliary building, but I'm not keen to find out and possibly get lost, so I go out from the exit that I know works. I stop at the stairs of the auxiliary building, deliberation for a moment between going to the dorms to get my books and stuff and going straight away to the class. The sun stings my eyes, so I head towards the dorms. The halls are quiet as the courtyard was, naturally so since everyone is in class. I knock lightly at the door of 3-3 and push open the door when Zexion calls from the other side.

"Sorry I'm late." Fifteen pairs of eyes turn to me.

"Good morning, Hikari." Zexion drones. He seems somewhat confounded by my coming in late, like I've interrupted his flow or something. Judging from the rambling lectures his classes tend to be, that might be the case. I pass him the note the nurse gave me. Zexion takes it with a nod and reads it quickly. He lifts his eyebrows and gives me a stern look but doesn't say anything, just nods solemnly again. I shrug and he gestures at me to run along, so I do. The class goes on lazily, and I might actually be getting into the rhythm of the school. I've even stopped worrying about taking notes and being overly attentive. The first days, I was pretty high-strung in class.

Zexion finishes his lecture about electricity early, but continues without a pause about the festival. "So, you all know the festival is on the day after tomorrow." He starts, "I hope everyone's projects are going to be successful this year. Have a good time, but also come Sunday, please keep the meaning of this festival in your minds…" This point in his speech reminds me of my question to Selphie.

"Games and fried food!" Speak of the devil and she shall appear. Everyone bursts out in laughter, and so do I.

"Yes, thank you Tilmitt. But what I meant was more the-" The remainder of his sentence is buried beneath the ring of the lunch bells, and everyone starts packing their things. Zexion deliberates for a moment, but since almost nobody seems to be paying attention to him anymore, he gives up and sits down at his desk.

**STRIDE**

It's crowded in the hallways, or as crowded as they could be. The lunch rush really is something to be beheld, as most of them do seem to be heading towards the cafeteria. Normally, I'd join the flow and grab a lunch myself, but today is different.

I've been invited to lunch on the roof.

And odd location, but that's where I was told to go. Fortunately, I manage to find shelter from the storm in the lee of the classroom door. Eventually, the torrent subsides and I step tentatively out in the hallway, only to be met by Kairi, who comes flouncing down the hallway like a cannonball.

"Hey! Hi Sora! Great timing! I have super extra special lunch today, as promised! Let's go upstairs!" Before I can even say anything, she grabs my wrist and starts leading me through a few hallways I'd never been through, until we reach a door with a "Do Not Enter" sign labeled onto the front, which Kairi pushes through regardless. The stairway to the roof is a little dilapidated, but it's clearly been used recently. At the top of the stairs is a door, complete with missing padlock. Who's the intrepid individual that removed the lock? Kairi shoves the door open and steps beaming into the sunlight. Suddenly, a tall dark stranger appears out of nowhere, standing imposingly in front of us. Kairi flinches back, almost falling back down the stairs.

"Eeek!" She squeals, holding the bags of food in front of her like a shield.

"Hello." The strange girl greets, and I can't help but feel like I've heard that voice before.

"Yipes! You scared me, Yuffie!" Wait, isn't she…

"Hello." Yuffie repeats to me specifically. Noticing that she's talking to me, Kari looks at me curiously.

"You two know each other?" She asks, looking between the two of us. I, in turn, look confusedly at her.

"She's that friend of yours?" Yuffie turns her gaze towards the clouds drifting above the school.

"I didn't know you knew this person, Kairi." Yuffie states, still looking at the sky.

The awkward silence lasts only a few more seconds until Kairi lets out a tiny giggle, shrugging the coincidence off. "I invited Sora for lunch. If you know him, that's just better."

"Oh. Does this mean I don't get food? Or did you invite him for lunch without the lunch?" Yuffie asks, still fascinated with clouds.

"Erm, neither, I have food for three." She answers sheepishly.

"Nice thinking." Yuffie compliments, finally taking her eyes off of the sky.

They walk to the other end of the roof while I stay at the clock tower for a while, taking in the atmosphere. There's nobody else but us here. I guess the roof isn't as popular as it is in other schools. A few rundown benches and tables are scattered around the edges, perhaps in an attempt to make the rooftop looks less desolate. The small pebbles covering the roof rattle beneath our feet.

I peek through the chain link fence to take a look at the school grounds and beyond. Students are strolling in pairs and groups around the quadrangle and at the cafeteria. A few delivery trucks are driving past the school towards the convenience store nearby. Somewhere a watchdog barks at a passerby. Somehow, when I look towards the town center the small town feel strikes me very strongly, almost palpably. The hectic lifestyle of big metropolises seems so far away and foreign here; nobody has to run to catch a bus like their life depended on it, or get their senses overloaded by the neon lights and traffic jams.

I feel surprisingly optimistic about this new life of mine, looking at my new hometown, even if it's going to be mine for only one short year. Finding out about my illness and having to move away from home all came so suddenly that I haven't had any time to think about how I feel about all this. When I step out of the shadow of the clock tower to open I'm embraced by the feeling of warmth touching my back. The sun shines from a perfectly clear cerulean sky.

A cool breeze sweeping over the rooftop makes me shiver, but only briefly. The wind carries the scent of trees and flowers, not smog or car exhaust like it used to, just a few weeks ago. Kairi settles on a bench with Yuffie in tow and produces one big and two small lunch boxes from her bag.

"Come on Sora! What're you waiting for?" She beckons me to join him, making room on the already small bench. I seat myself on the corner of the bench to take as little space as possible. It's pretty cramped, but somehow all three of us fit on it.

"Impressive view." I comment, Kairi suppresses a giggle and places a lunchbox in front of Yuffie, and hands another to me.

"Here you go!" She exclaims, holding the box out like a Grammy Award, "Lunch, as promised!"

Homemade, no less, I'm impressed.

"Wow. This looks really good." It really does. Rice, bread, curry, some chicken, it's all neatly and colorfully assorted in the small white box.

"Thanks! I make 'em myself when I can." Kairi says, with a triumphant grin on her face. The conversation dies off as I set about the business of feeding myself. Taking a few bites, I glance up and notice Yuffie deftly opening the lunch box and popping a forkful of food into her mouth using only her feet. Even though I've seen it before, I can't help but be impressed at her dexterity. It's also a reminder of the sort of place I'm in right now.

Will I ever get used to sights such as this?

I can't decide if getting used to such a thing would be good or bad either. Does getting used to this place mean that I'm giving up on being a normal person? Or does it just mean that I'm becoming more understanding about those around me? I'm distracted from my thoughts by the sight of Kairi tearing into her lunch as if it had insulted her parents.

"You seem pretty hungry." I point out, trying not to be rude. She looks up, mouth half full, and swallows before nodding.

"My morning run always works up an appetite. Which is great, because then I burn through lunch pretty quickly. Helps me keep my girlish figure." She admits with a shy smile.

"What would happen if you'd lose it?" Yuffie asks, "would you become a man?" I nearly choke on my lunch trying not to laugh. I can't tell if Yuffie is joking or not, but Kairi doesn't seem fazed.

"It's a figure of speech." Kairi points out, stuffing another piece of chicken into her mouth.

"Does your figure have to run in the mornings too?"

"Well, of course! I am my figure, after all."

"So if you lost your girlish figure, wouldn't you not be a girl?" The kooky back to back spectacle has left me confused.

"Do you always talk like this?" I ask, halting their debate.

"Talk like what?" The two of them ask me in concession. I think that answers my question.

"Er, never mind." I can tell I'm not gonna get an answer, so I decide to segue the conversation. "So, uh…" I struggle to think of small talk and settle on the obvious question.

"How'd you two meet?" I ask, looking between the two of them. Yuffie seems content to let Kairi answer the question.

"Someone in the housing department thought that we'd complement each other well, so we were assigned rooms next to one another." Kairi explains.

"Complement each other?" I ask, perplexed. That person was right, they do compliment each other, but how could someone know without them meeting before?

"Like… shoes and a suit!"

"What?" Kairi giggles at my confusion.

"Put us together, and we've got all our limbs, get it?"

"Ah…" Well, you'd have two pairs of torsos and heads…

"So, I started helping Yuffie get ready in the mornings, and that was that! I mean, you can't help someone get dressed every day and not get along!"

"I see." Yuffie chooses this moment to interject.

"I have trouble with shirts." She states plainly, taking another chunk of rice from her fork.

"Right, that seems… fairly obvious." I point out awkwardly.

"Really?" Yuffie asks me, with a surprised look on her face. I can't tell whether she's being sarcastic or is just a strange character. This isn't helping, but at least Kairi is finding this entertaining.

"Er… I mean, you've got no arms. So, uh, putting on a shirt seems like one of those things that would be… er… difficult."

…

You know what? I'm just gonna stop talking now.

It'll save me a lot of trouble in the long run.

Yuffie just nods in what I suspect is meant to be a sage manner.

"I see." The conversation dies as I turn my attention back to my lunch.

It really is quite good.

**STRIDE**

Kairi finishes her meal with a content sound, stretching her arms behind her.

"Ah, that was good!" As she busies herself with cleaning up her lunch, Yuffie speaks up.

"I'm thirsty."

"Oh! I almost forgot about that! Sorry!" With a flourish, she reaches into her bag and removes a trio of juiceboxes. She tosses me one that appears to be cranberry juice, one to Yuffie that appears to be some kind of fruit punch, and keeps a box of some sort of strawberry milk for herself. Yuffie dexterously stabs her straw through the top of her box and begins to drink. I'm once again impressed by how flexible she is, but this time I keep my comment to myself.

Somehow, I don't think either Kairi or Yuffie are the sorts of people to think twice about the way they work around their particular disabilities. Yuffie especially. Indeed, she gives off the impression of being entirely unaware that she's missing any limbs at all. Whether or not that's a conscious decision is another matter.

I'm honestly not sure.

"So, Sora." Kairi calls to me, "how do you like it up here?" I make some unintelligible grunt asking for clarification, which pulls a giggle from her pressed lips. "The rooftop, silly!" Ah, the rooftop. Well, it really is quite nice. I do love high places, if not, just for the view. I relay my thoughts to her, adding a thank you for the lunch. Kairi grins a thousand-watt grin, pleased by my response I suppose.

"No problem! Feel free to eat with us next time too, okay? I won't make you a lunch, but you can bring your own up here."

"No lunch service? I don't know…" I tease.

Kairi looks mock offended.

"Tying to take advantage of my good nature? The nerve!" She gigles, "well, if that's your answer, I guess Yuffie and I will just keep eating lunch all alone…" I'm suddenly assaulted by the most heart-rending puppy dog eyes I've ever seen as Kairi pouts.

"Kidding! I was kidding!" Waving my arms in front of me like a retarded windmill. "I-I'd love to eat lunch up here again! Good location, and the company's okay too." Kairi frowns a bit at my declaration of "okay" but seems happy enough that I've accepted her invitation. I guess this makes us friends now.

Or at least acquaintances.

The lunch bell rings, signaling a return downstairs.

"Yuffie, you didn't finish your lunch again!" Kairi yelps, pointing at the half eaten lunch box with one hand and pointing at the armless girl with the other.

"I wasn't that hungry." Yuffie answers, with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"If you don't eat more, you're going to fade away!" Kairi's absurd accusation is met by another nonchalant shrug of the shoulders, as if it's an acceptable risk.

"Come on" I coax the two of them, "we'd better get going."

The three of us descend the staircase together.

**STRIDE**

The afternoon classes pass. Once again, I find myself without a plan for something to do after school, so I head to the library to return a couple of the books I finished reading.

Walking inside, I see that there are about as many students here as there were on Tuesday, all the more evident from the almost total silence enveloping the room. As I drop the books I'd borrowed into the return slot in the counter, Olette suddenly pops up from behind it, quite startled from the banging they make as they hit the trolley next to her.

"Ah, sorry Olette. Didn't mean to startle you." I apologize, peering over the counter at the collapsed figure.

"No, no. That's fine. It happens… a lot. I'm used to it by now." As if to prove a point, she hops up as quickly as she fell, "Um, can I help you?"

"It's okay. I think I know where everything is. Thanks anyway." I suppose I'll grab another book or two while I'm here. There's not much else to do, and after reading so much during my stay in the hospital, it's become a hard habit to break. I wander down to the fiction section towards the back of the library, scanning the bookshelves for anything that catches my eye. As I do, I look over to the corner where Xion had been last time, not expecting much of it.

…surprisingly, though, she's there, absorbed completely in a fairly thick book. I decide against intruding on her like last time and get back to finding reading material.

**STRIDE**

After an indiscernible amount of time spent perusing the aisles, I finally decide on a couple of books to get and slide them off the shelf. Without a minimum of fuss, I quickly walk over to the counter, check out my books and pop them into my bag as I walk out. By the time I leave the main building, sunset isn't too far away. A small trickle of students remain, but the majority have left; presumably to their homes and dorms. Feeling utterly drained, I head to my room to read the books I borrowed. There's been enough action and excitement for one day already.

The first is "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". I know the story, of course, but I've never actually read the original book. It's just as trippy as I remember the story to be, with all the wacky characters and nonsense plot. I start thinking of myself as some kind of an Alice too, haplessly tumbling down the rabbit hole into this Cripple Wonderland.

…Okay, that's a rather strong expression. Still, the isolated location and the overt way the school accommodates to absolutely everything is unsettling. It's like another world. I wonder why I can't shake the feeling of being an outsider like Alice, despite most everyone being so hospitable and friendly with me. Turning another page, my mind starts drifting further away from the book. It's quiet, I can hear my heartbeat thumping against the fabric of my shirt. For some reason, it makes me feel really bad; like it has since that time in the forest with Shiki. Like I was locked in a cage with something nasty and scary. I put the book down for a while and stare at the ceiling, taking my time to shake off the feeling.

Two hundred pages later, I fall asleep.

**STRIDE**

The students roll into class for the morning session, each and every one of them sporting the tired eyes of people that have worked through the night. With only a day left to prepare, I suppose it's not so surprising. Thankfully, we only have to suffer through classes until lunch break, and then our time is our own. Zexion lurches into class in a tired stagger. I suppose students aren't the only people that enjoy their late nights. Without even saying a word, he scrawls some page and question numbers on the board and slumps down at his desk. It's completely atypical behavior for him, but it appears that no one in the class is going to call him out on it. Wordlessly, the students shuffle their textbooks into position and get to work. Not wanting to break the trend, I do the same. Fatigue has made the class antisocial; not a peep is heard among the ruffling papers, not even from the world's most social brunette butterfly, who appears to be absent today, pointed out by her empty seat.

…

Wow.

…

It's really quiet without Selphie.

I wonder if she was born as rowdy as she is, or if she's making up for something else.

"Hikari, can I speak with you for a moment?" I'm so engrossed in thinking about Selphie that I don't even notice Zexion approaching my desk.

"S-Sure… what's this about?" I ask. I don't remember doing something deserving punishment or a private talking from a teacher…

"It's probably better if we speak outside the classroom…" This doesn't seem too positive, but I stand up and follow him out into the hallway. Zexion stands there, scratching his head as he works out what he's trying to say. Not knowing what's going on, I wait silently.

"I heard from the school's head nurse that you had an accident the other day."

Ah. So it's about that.

"Well, kind of, but it's not anything to be worried about." I reassure.

"Yes. Yes it is. Anything that can endanger your health is something to be worried about." His sharp voice catches me off guard. I was expecting a nonchalant "don't do it again", but he's not finished. "We try our best here to prepare you for future life. Part of that involves knowing your limits, and how to work around them. It would be remiss of me if I didn't speak up about this."

"All right, I get it. I'm sorry." I say impatiently. Zexion closes his eyes in frustration, and I realize this probably wasn't the best thing to say.

"Something tells me that you're not sorry. Pretend as much as you want, but this isn't a normal school. A lot of people have put in a lot of time, effort, and money to make sure that you, and every other student here, can have the same level of education as your peers. For you to abuse that by throwing out advice, especially medical advice, is plain selfish."

I'm not quite sure if this is actually how he feels, or if this is some act that he's practiced many times to guilt-trip students into doing the right thing. Either way, it's working.

"I understand. This is all new to me, and I apologize. I know my limits now, and I'll be sticking to them."

God I'm such a kiss-ass.

Zexion appears to lighten up a little, satisfied that his message has been received.

"So then, onto my next question; how are you finding your studies? I understand you were laid up for a while. We're not too far ahead, are we?" A stark change in topic, but I'm all but willing to segue from the previous topic.

"I don't really think so. I tried to keep up when I was in the hospital, so it hasn't been too hard." Zexion taps his chin and raises an eyebrow as he absorbs this information.

"Is that so… I suppose there are still students out there that realize the importance of learning…" I wouldn't go that far, I was only trying to keep myself occupied in my little life support prison.

"Well, yeah. You've got to keep up with these things, right?" I decide to play along, just to get on Zexion's good list.

"That's exactly it! One wrong move in this world and you're left behind, right?" He starts getting a little eager, which is completely different to his attitude in class.

"Er, right. Wouldn't want that to happen."

"No, no you wouldn't. Every week there's a new scientific discovery. Most of them mean nothing to the layperson, but anyone of them could be the key to the Next Big Thing."

"I-I'll keep that in mind…" It's obvious that Zexion's Serious Talk is over, and he's gone back to his standard, slightly scatterbrained approach to life. I think, in hindsight, that I prefer him this way. He's slightly more predictable in his unpredictability.

"Well then, I think that's all I really had to say. Let's get back inside, shall we?"

The relief at this suggestion I feel is insurmountable.

"Sure, you're the boss, right?"

He pauses for a moment.

"I don't think any of my students have ever said that to me before." For an instant I consider replying to this, but something deep within me tells me to shut my mouth and get back into the classroom.

A few of the students jump at the sound of the door, rapidly trying to pretend that they are working on the questions on the board. Some don't even bother, their hands slumped on the desk as they nap. Thankfully, it would appear that Zexion doesn't even notice them. He returns to his desk and retrieves a scientific journal from one of the drawers. I guess I got to him there. The class returns to the near-silence that Zexion and I left it in before our chat. Mixed feelings of tiredness and anticipation buzz around the room. Everyone here is either waiting for a chance to rest or the chance to get their last-minute preparations underway. The clock on the wall slowly ticks the remaining class time away, until finally the bells cry out, ending the torment.

"Before you all leave, I expect the answers for those problems by Monday." The class sighs as one, instantly regretting slacking off, but still acutely aware of the more pressing issues at hand. The classrooms empties in a blink as everyone rushes to their last-minute festival preparations. I stay behind and try to quickly finish the questions so I don't have to bother with it over the rest of the weekend, with the festival and all tomorrow.

Apart from me, Xion is the only one left, obviously waiting for Namine. It's weird that Namine comes all the way to our classroom to pick her up. I expect that moving around is at least nominally harder for her than it is for Xion. But it's none of my business, and I naturally don't ask about it from her. Despite the relative proximity of our seats, neither tries to strike up a conversation about that or anything else either, so an oppressive silence falls upon the classroom.

**STRIDE**

Time passes in silence. It's probably just fifteen minutes or so but it feels longer. I turn the pages of my notebook. Xion turns the pages of the novel she's reading. My pencil lead splinters against the paper just when I was about to finish a paragraph. The sounds of my irritated sigh and subsequent fumbling around for a sharpener feel like they're breaking the silent mood in the classroom.

XIon keeps her eyes firmly away from my direction.

Before long, Namine's tall figure appears in the doorway.

"Xion?" Her name is all it takes to make Xion jump up from her desk and run to Namine. They talk quietly for a moment, but it isn't long before Namine leaves down the hall and Xion idles back into the classroom, taking her seat once again. I watch Xion out of the corner of my eye out of sheer curiosity at the idea that the two would be separated. For a couple of minutes, she does nothing but sit with her chin in her hand, staring at the desk dejectedly. The boredom evidently becomes too much for her though, her slender frame reaching into her bag and pulling out a small book.

Come to think of it, that isn't the one I saw her reading at the library. She must be quite a fast reader to get through them at this rate. After about ten minutes of restlessly shuffling in her seat and trying to read, Xion closes her book and leaves. As should I, since the assignment is all but finished and there is nothing else to do in the classroom.

Not that I have anything to do anywhere else either.

The school is a beehive of activity but nobody pays me any heed.

I saunter past classrooms filled with students frantically doing this and that, buzzing around like little worker bees. You wouldn't believe that the school day is over. I try to escape all the worker vibes, and I open the doors and embrace the outside.

…

It's a bit quieter outside, but not by much.

People zip by, left and right, hurrying as quick as they can; busy and energetic. I feel the opposite. The midday sun seems to be draining all the spirit out of my body, making it feel limp all over. Warm, soft air flows inside my shirt, feeling like a cushion. I yawn lazily, thinking about what I should do. I'll drop off my books at the dorms first, and then… something I haven't decided yet.

Maybe Roxas is in his room.

On the way to dorms, I spot Kairi coming my way, running despite not having those weird running prosthetics on. I wave at her and she skids to a stop.

"Yo, Sora!" Splatters of white and green paint adorn her nose and chin respectively, but her smile is wide, as it seems it always is. She leans closer to me, amplifying the feeling she's examining me.

"Whatchadoin'?" She asks me, not moving her face any farther from my own.

"Nothing, really. I don't have anything to do for the festival and everyone else seems to be doing something important."

"That's perfect! Then you can help me and Yuffie!" I've been getting drafted for things against my will so many times already…

"With the festival preparations?" I ask steadily, "Eeeh, I'm not sure if I would be of much help." As much as I complain about the lack of things to do, I'd rather not work.

"That's fine! I'm not much help either!" She grabs my wrist and starts dragging me back inside the school quite forcefully. Even her walking speed is more like jogging, making me stumble over myself simply trying to keep up. The stairs slow her down a little bit. Maybe it's hard to climb with her legs, or maybe she's finally run out of breath.

We go all the way back to the third floor and to the seniors' hallway, ending up where I left five minutes ago. I could just as well have stayed here waiting for Kairi, had I known.

"So are you… is Yuffie working on anything?"

"Yep!" Kairi answers, "she's working on a mural for the festival!" A handless painter? I can only assume she uses her feet, and I shouldn't be surprised by this. "She needs all kinds of paints and brushes and stuff, so I went to get them from the art cassroom."

"And you need me to help with that."

"Well… I thought you wouldn't mind helping her…"

"I see."

So thanks to Kairi's flaky logic, here I am again, collecting supplies from the art classroom for other people. Again. The room is empty apart from ourselves and the lonely specks of dust floating in the air. Kairi skips straight away to the back wall, digging out a tiny, crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. While she tries to make sense of the scrawled handwriting, I take a closer look at the materials lying around here.

Dozens of paint cans and bottles are arranged on the shelves in a most unorganized fashion. Some look like they have been left there for several decades; relics of previous art club generations. Next to the heavy stacks of neatly piled drawing paper are boxes full of different-sized brushes and unsorted crayons. The smells of pain, turpentine, and fresh paper float in the stale air, mixing in my nostrils to form that unmistakable scent of art. Kairi studies her notes, comparing them to markings on various paint cans, and passes them to me as she finds the correct matches. She stretches her neck to look on the topmost shelf, but it's not quite enough. Her eye level stays below the shelf no matter what she does. She eventually gives up and just looks up to the shelf longingly, like a child at a toy store, huffing in annoyance. After a moment of building anger, she starts jumping up and down, apparently trying to speed-read the labels during the fraction of a second she can see them, and catch what she can. It's no surprise that she fails miserably, and almost manages to bring the entire shelf crashing down.

Now I see why me lending a hand would be useful.

"Come on, let me do that. You can't jump high enough, and I don't want you to hurt yourself. Also, I'm twice your height." I add cheekily, hoping for some kind of response.

"You are not!" She turns around, flaring scorn, flushed cheeks and all.

"Just kidding, just kidding. Anyway, I'll look up there, okay?" She glares at me one more time, but can't come up with a retort. With a grudging "hmph," she turns here back to me. I begin scrounging around the top shelf for paint while below, Kairi crouches to scavenge what she can from the cupboards. I shake my head a little, after double-checking to ensure she can't see me do so. Kairi having a complex about her height was a surprise; I wouldn't have joked about it otherwise. She seems easygoing, but I guess everyone has their weak spots. Only after we have almost all the items collected and spread out on a desk like a treasure hunter's spoils do I realize that it wasn't necessarily the height jab that got her riled up.

She might not like to be told that she can't do something.

Like jump.

But Kairi herself seems to have forgotten it already. Quick to anger, quick to forgive… is she that kind of person? At least she doesn't seem to have taken anything to heart, as she chatters away happily while we pick up the rest of the items and then make our way back to Yuffie. I chivalrously carry the bulk of the materials as we make our way towards the dorms.

"Yuffie's really stressed about getting her painting done. It's her own fault though; she should've started earlier." Kairi tells me, keeping a few steps ahead of me.

"Is she going to make it?" I ask, as the festival _is_ tomorrow, and she's probably painting slower than most others.

"No idea. It looks good to me, but with Yuffie, you never know what's going on. I found her this morning lying in front of the dorm in the fetal position. She hasn't slept all night. I can't believe that the night nurses haven't found her. And now, once again, she's painting again like crazy!"

"Yeah, I've… noticed that she comes off as kinda… unhinged. So to speak." Kairi giggles at that, as well as at my obvious awkwardness.

"I don't mind it. She's just a little weird sometimes." On that I can agree with her. Unlike me, Kairi seems to be cool with Yuffie's… whatever it is that feels so off about her. Still, they don't feel close like Namine and Xion do. With them working as a single entity sometimes, it's hard to say where one ends and the other begins. Even though they're so different, just like Kairi and Yuffie are. And Yuffie's the most different of them all, different from anyone else I've met.

"Yeah, I guess she's a very… unique person." I return the word again, as if it encompasses her personality by itself, but it's just a substitute for a lengthy description of her oddities. Kairi giggles as I grasp about for a properly descriptive word.

"She's just weird. You know, earlier, she just spent half an hour sitting on her seat staring at her toes. She giggles again in a way that makes me think she doesn't know what's funny about it, it just is. "She does it all the time."

**STRIDE**

The working area is a mess, but the mural itself has taken over even more of the wall since I last saw it. The disfigured human figures have been mostly colored in tones of red, pink, and orange; weird, imaginary… things populating the spaces between. It looks… nice. I can't think of any word that would describe the work concisely and comprehensively so I settle myself with a nondescript "nice."

But honestly, it seems that the area around the wall becomes untidier at the same rate as the mural progresses. The ground is littered with dozens of paint cans, various art supplies and empty soda bottles. Yuffie herself is in the center of this chaos, standing there looking very cozy as if she was a natural part of the scene. The legs of her pants have been rolled up to her knees, exposing her thin legs which sport a drying spectrum of war paintings, similar to those on Kairi's face. Kairi sprints to Yuffie ahead of me and gleefully jumps in front of her.

"I'm back!" She exclaims, holding her hands out with all the paint supplies she had brought.

"That was fast. Did you run in the corridors again?" Yuffie asks, turning away from her painting to look at the redhead.

"Sora helped me." She points victoriously at me. Yuffie turns around following Kairi's eager finger with her eyes, looking in my general direction. She nods absentmindedly at me. She looks like she hasn't slept since last night: a vacant, glazed stare that's focused slightly off me, and movements made in slow motion.

"Hello, Sora. Thank you for the help." I perk up at her comment. I thought she was the type of person to forget simple pleasantries like "thank you" and "you're welcome."

"Don't mention it."

"I just did."

… And the normal Yuffie resurfaces.

"Never mind."

…

"Looks like you've made progress. Looking good; as far as I can tell." I try to strike up the conversation, but it seems that I can't think of anything else to say.

"You know, if you comment on a painting, it's bad luck." Yuffie tells me, returning her eyes to the mural.

"Well, I'm willing to take the risk."

"That's a very nice thing to say. For me, of course. Not for you. This is why artists are always unlucky. They have to constantly look at their unfinished paintings. So artists can't find romance, their favorite television shows are canceled, or they die young because of an unspecified disease. It's a deep and mysterious law of the universe."

…

"Unless they're blind." Yuffie interjects her last point, looking like she's about to fall asleep. "There is a boy at the art club, you see. Blind boy. So he doesn't. See."

"Um… you already…" I glance sideways at Kairi and she glances back, in a way that tells me she's heard this one before. Neither of us say anything to the artist, though, so she continues her monotone soliloquy like an unfunny stand-up comedian.

"-which is why he should become an artist. No bad luck, guaranteed." Yuffie finishes, giving us an expectant look. "Don't you think that would be a good idea?"

"That only blind people should become artists? No, not at all. Because, you know, they can't see what they're doing."

…

…

Yuffie seems to ponder this thought for a while, until her still body is moved by her definitive nod.

"You might have a point."

Abandoning this train of thought, she turns again to consider her work and starts humming a tune that I think I recognize, but can't remember the name of. Kairi arranges the supplies we brought and moves a few paint cans around, trying to bring some organization to the scene.

"Kairi, I need the Prussian blue paint." Yuffie orders, keeper her gaze on the project in front of her.

"Which one's Prussian blue…" Kairi asks, staring helplessly at seven or eight cans, each with a different tone of blue.

"It's the one with Prussian blue paint in it." Yuffie answers.

"Geez, Yuffie! You're not helping at all!" I look around as well, even though I don't know what Prussian blue looks like, either. I wonder what blue has to do with a Germanic kingdom.

… at least I think that's what Prussia is. It might be a type of food for all I know.

While none of the blues looks more Prussian than the others, the small print on the labels is legible enough to determine that none say anything about the contents being Prussian.

"There's not Prussian blue here."

"Then we need to go get some more, then." Kairi answers, getting up from her seat on the floor. I open my mouth to point out that actually, we're _both_ not needed for such a simple task as like finding another pot of Prussian blue, but Kairi's already grabbed my arm and dragging me back into the school building. I wave to Yuffie, but she doesn't seem to notice we've left.

Well, she'll notice when she goes for her Prussian blue and finds out it's still not there.

…

Maybe.

…

I think so.

…

Probably not, actually.

I'm snap out of my thoughts about how weird Yuffie is when Kairi stops in her tracks, making me bump into her. It's only then when I realize I'm starting to run out of breath.

"You okay?" She asks me, turning around with her hands on her hips.

"Huh?" Kairi's giving me an appraising look, as if she's trying to figure something out.

…

…

Comprehension dawns on her face.

"You're not out of breath, are you?" There's almost an accusing playfulness to her tone. I'm tempted to deny it, but then I realize that I've been breathing heavily since we've stopped.

Guess it's kinda obvious.

"A little. Not everyone can be in shape, you know. Takes all kinds, right?" She frowns. It's not a particularly good frown. "Er, that is… I should… get… in shape?" Not that I hadn't already decided to try for that. After that flutter on the track I figure there's a real need to get in some sort of running habit. I was, after all, feeling pretty good until I had my false alarm.

Actually, I wasn't. But it was… fun?

Meanwhile, my comment seems to have helped Kairi come to some sort of decision.

"Well, that's it then." She gives me a serious look. "You're joining me."

Uh, what?

"I beg your pardon?"

"In the mornings. You and I are now running partners. I've got a routine all planned out. In fact…" She produces a crumpled sheet of paper. "I've got it right here with me!" I take the sheet of paper and give it a once-over. Times, dates, and laps, all laid out. A slow increase from just a few laps a day to…

My God, does she expect to have me running marathons?

And where did she find the time to get this all together?

And how long has she been planning this, anyway?

"You've been planning this?"

"A little." She confesses, holding back a smile. "But it's really the nurse's idea! She told me to keep an eye on you to make sure you exercised like he told you to!"

A vast conspiracy? Maybe Roxas was onto something after all.

"This seems a bit much for just 'keeping an eye on me.'"

"Well, to be honest, I've been trying to find a running partner in the mornings for a while now." My God, Roxas! If only you could see the scheme unfolding!

"What do you need a partner for, anyway? I'm pretty sure you only need one person to run."

"Well, it's easier to keep up a workout if you're not the only one doing it. Isn't it obvious? You're less likely to quit if someone else is counting on you to be there, right?" Kairi explains.

"I see. And this won't only keep you running, but it'll make sure that I keep running as well. Meaning that I'll be obeying the nurse…"

"…and I'll be keeping an eye on you just like he asked!" She finishes the sentence, "you catch on quick, Sora."

"And if I refuse?" I have no intention of refusing, of course. But I've got to at least put up a token resistance to such a masterfully executed plan.

"Well, if you refused I'd have to pout. And you'd have to live with being the guy who made Kairi Hart pout. You don't want that on your conscience, do you?" As if to demonstrate, Kairi begins pouting.

Her small cute lips perked up and quivering, her head slightly tilted downwards to the left, casting a shadow onto her sad eyes. It's' truly the most adorable, heart-wrenching thing I've ever seen.

"Okay! I'll do it! Just.. .don't do that! I feel like I just hit a puppy!" Her face perks back up to its normal condition, as if the pout is a practiced performance.

"So it's settled, right? You're going to be my running partner? Follow the workout and the dietary plan?"

"What dietary plan?" She never mentioned anything about that!

"Yeah, the dietary plan! You've got to eat healthy if you're going to get in shape, you know!"

I look away from the girl to examine the workout routine closely. There's nothing even mentioning a workout routine.

"I don't see a dietary plan on here." I tell her.

"Oh right! I forgot to give that to you!" Another crumpled sheet of paper is produced and handed over. It's somewhat less detailed. "I had the nurse help me come up with it." The amount of dedication that the nurse has to keeping me in good health is pretty overwhelming. I don't know many school nurses who would get one of their students to spy on me, much less help come up with a dietary plan.

Then again, this isn't a normal school.

Maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Then again, this dietary plan seems to cut out just about everything that'll be offered at the festival tomorrow.

Hmm…

"So when does our running start?" I ask, trying to find food for loopholes.

"After the festival." Kairi answers. I still need more details.

"Right after? What if I've had something to eat there? I could get a stomach ache, you know." This questions forces a giggle from my small companion.

"I meant the day after the festival, silly!"

"I knew that." I say stupidly. So, if workout starts after the festival, then I can still have all the greasy food I want!

…

…

Wasn't there something we were supposed to be doing?

"Oh! I guess we should get that paint for Yuffie, huh?" I remind her, pointing to the various paints stashed in the back of the room.

"Oh no! It slipped my mind!" We immediately run towards the back cabinets and start looking for Prussian blue.

**STRIDE**

By the time we get the paint and get back to the mural, Yuffie's already wandered off.

Oh well.

Kairi and I both decide to part ways there, leaving the paint on the ground. Yuffie will find it. When she comes back anyway.

The festival's tomorrow, I'm actually a little excited for it. At the same time, the week's left me feeling pretty tired, so I read a little and then go to bed.

**Haha, chapter four complete. Here are the sneak peeks for chapter five. Enjoy!**

**From my window, I can already see some people at the food booths slinging noodles onto plates for people craving some low-quality food.**

I can picture him having built a soundproof shelter in his room. Or possibly something like a fort, complete with a "No Girls Allowed" sign. And with the "Girls" part crossed out with "body" crudely scrawled underneath it.

"What what? Is today special? Why are they there? Who are? I can hear them. It's loud… don't tell me… has the invasion begun?" He suddenly grabs my shoulders and starts violently shaking me. "WHAT DAY IS IT, MAN?"

"Aieeeeeeee!"

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"A little near death experience is no excuse for skipping basic exercise."

Well, I suppose there are worse fates.

There's a dreamlike quality to the whole thing that makes me almost feel sleepy.

Somehow, I've wound up paying for all the food.

I feel kind of like a monster.

My book waits for me, and I flop onto my bed and read through the fireworks display.

**So if you couldn't already tell, next chapter is gonna be exclusively based on the festival. The next chapter will be out in about a week or two, since finals are coming out. So, until then, see ya.**

**~Breaking Barriers**


	6. Festivale

**Hello, this is Breaking Barriers here. Time for chapter five! Get ready for quirky Roxas, dictatorial Kairi, psychic Yuffie, and hungry Sora pushed into a hectic event! This is the festival chapter! **

**Last time on Stride…**

**I get dragged to the roof for lunch.**

"Hey! Hi Sora! Great timing! I have super extra special lunch today, as promised! Let's go upstairs!" Before I can even say anything, she grabs my wrist and starts leading me through a few hallways I'd never been through, until we reach a door with a "Do Not Enter" sign labeled onto the front, which Kairi pushes through regardless.

**I meet Kairi's friend.**

"Hello." The strange girl greets, and I can't help but feel like I've heard that voice before.

**I learn a bit about their relationship.**

"Do you always talk like this?" I ask, halting their debate.

"Talk like what?" The two of them ask me in concession. I think that answers my question.

**I'm forced to endure torture.**

I'm suddenly assaulted by the most heart-rending puppy dog eyes I've ever seen as Kairi pouts.

**And I guess we're friends.**

Or at least acquaintances.

**I get a shakedown from Zexion about my health.**

"Something tells me that you're not sorry. Pretend as much as you want, but this isn't a normal school. A lot of people have put in a lot of time, effort, and money to make sure that you, and every other student here, can have the same level of education as your peers. For you to abuse that by throwing out advice, especially medical advice, is plain selfish."

**I find out Yuffie's an armless painter.**

A handless painter? I can only assume she uses her feet, and I shouldn't be surprised by this.

**I help Kairi help Yuffie.**

It's no surprise that she fails miserably, and almost manages to bring the entire shelf crashing down.

Now I see why me lending a hand would be useful.

**I realize something important.**

She might not like to be told that she can't do something.

Like jump.

**I'm enlisted to Kairi's workout program.**

"Well, that's it then." She gives me a serious look. "You're joining me."

**And the festival's coming up.**

The festival's tomorrow, I'm actually a little excited for it.

**STRIDE**

I wake up feeling a little lightheaded. It's almost noon already. Sleeping late is fine, since it's a Saturday, and there aren't any classes today.

Not just a Saturday, thought, but it's the festival.

From my window, I can already see some people at the food booths slinging noodles onto plates for people with a craving for low-quality food. I throw back a handful of my morning meds and ponder how to spend the day. There are gonna be a few exams in the coming week, but I don't consider those as ominous as others, so I'm not as worried about them as I probably should be. With no urgent obligations regarding education, I should be free to spend the day at the festival, as I like.

Finishing my morning routine, I exit into the hallway, intending to go out and find something to eat. Passing by his door, I decide to see what Roxas is up to today out of impulse. I'm curious to see if he has any plans, since everyone's doing something. Then again, I can picture him having build a soundproof shelter in his room, or possibly something like a fort, complete with a "No Girls Allowed" sign.

… and with "Girls" crossed out and "body" crudely scrawled underneath it.

Knocking on his door, which is luckily devoid of any kind of sign, I can hear the clicking of at least ten locks being pulled back. The door opens with a crack.

"Who is it?" Roxas asks, poking his head out of the door.

"You're supposed to ask that before you open the door." I point out. His face brightens with recognition and he pushes the door open to its full extent.

"Oh, it's you. Damn, it's early." It's eleven-thirty.

"It's not really that early." I point out, showing him my wristwatch.

"What is it, man?" He asks me.

"Nothing, was just gonna ask what you're gonna do today. Half the school is out there already."

"Out where? Why?"

"What?"

"What what? Is today special? Why are they there? Who are?" Roxas sprints into my room and puts his ear against my window. After shuddering violently, he starts yelling at me again. "I can hear them… it's loud… don't tell me... has the invasion begun?" He suddenly looks extremely alarmed. He runs up to me and starts violently shaking my shoulders. "What day is it, man?!"

"Yeah, I guess you can't see the big wooden booths outside, and people selling stuff…" Because you're blind.

"What the hell are you talking about? I have my curtains closed at all times to thwart the snipers." He lets go of me and gives me a look, as if _I'm_ the idiot, as if it's custom practice to hide from snipers.

"Uhh… it's the festival. You know that… right?"

"Oh shit, that's today? Ah, damn. Ah…damn. Dammit. I can't believe I forgot, I don't have my fort finished yet! This is bad… this is going to be a very bad day… it's good that you told me this, man. This is gonna be a very bad day…" He takes a few steps back and starts pacing in circles.

"Why is this such a bad day?"

"Oh man, they're going to be everywhere. The people. Outside my window. Socializing!" Roxas rubs his temples nervously, suddenly looking very ill. "It's gonna be loud as hell. Damn, and I was going to go out today, but now it's ruined. Everything is ruined." He stamps his foot on the ground like a child being denied his candy. "This is awful. This sucks. This sucks! What the hell, this really sucks. I can't go anywhere now. There's nowhere to run. I can't believe this. So that's what today was. Damn, and I couldn't even prepare for it."

He's visibly freaking out.

"I couldn't even brace myself and now it's here and I can't do anything. You should have told me this earlier, dude. I mean, at least, I know, but… I could have known earlier! Imagine what I could've accomplished…"

"Sorry." I apologize, "I thought you knew. So I guess you're not going to do anything today. I mean, the weather is pretty good. Yesterday was really windy, so I thought today would be cold. It's not, though, so there's no reason to just stay inside. Yeah, you should check the festival out." Even social vampires like Roxas should have a little fun. Roxas groans and covers his face with his hands.

"Agh, no, no! I can't do it. They'll eat me alive out there, I know it!" This has to be a joke, but he says it with such a straight face. Relatively straight. Not counting the abject fear and panic. "What are you going to do? We should hang out in here, you can help me build my fort. We might still make it if we work together."

"I wonder… I'm kinda hungry, but I made this deal that I try to take better care of myself. Be healthier, you know. I dunno if I should steer clear of the ramen or jump straight in." I'm not actually considering his offer, just trying to make conversation.

"Deal?" Roxas asks with a raised eye, "Sounds ominous. So, what are you getting in return?" What am I getting in return? Well, deal's probably the wrong word.

"Well, not really a deal." I try to explain, "You know Kairi, from our year? We kinda agreed to watch each other's backs and-"

"Aieeeeeeee!" His screech of absolute terror cuts me off and sends shivers down my spine. It's as if I told a Catholic priest I sold my soul to the devil.

"Her! You sold your soul to the devil, and didn't get anything in return? What the hell is wrong with you, man? Do you know who you're dealing with? She's a public health danger. Do you know how many people she sends to the hospital monthly with her carefully placed flying tackles? She's one of them! A key player in the vast conspiracy that aims for the complete submission of everything that is manly! I can't believe what I'm hearing. I trusted in your judgment, man. I thought we were brothers! You have to call it off before it's too late! This festival, too! It's another one of… _their_ plays…" His face progressively grows redder and redder as he yells at me. He fingers his scarf nervously, faster and faster like he's trying to start a fire, then slowly begins to calm down once the panic attack finishes running its course.

"I'm going to have to find some place to hide in, a safe haven. Then, I'm going to knock the lights out of myself so that I don't have to experience this horrible day. I have the perfect timing for that. I must prepare now. Don't go to the festival"

"Okay."

"Later, dude." The door slowly closes with a low creak and I don't know how to feels about what Roxas just said. It's kinda unsettling, and now I start to feel doubtful, myself.

Should I bother going?

I've got a book I've been meaning to read. Something about an underground postal system that may or may not exist. It's short, too. I could have it finished in a day.

But would that be a good way to spend my time?

Well, yeah. It definitely would be.

But I suppose that the better idea would be to go outside.

See the fesival.

Try to integrate with all the other sideshow acts.

Honestly, I should at least make an attempt to keep up the somewhat friendly personality I've had the past week.

Maybe get something to eat, my stomach suggests. I really am hungry. It's almost lunchtime… I could at least grab something from one of the stalls outside.

**STRIDE**

I'm soon surrounded by various students and people who may or may not be their parents. Every so often I catch a glimpse of someone who clearly just came up from town for the promise of a festival. They're pretty easy to spot. They're the ones who can't stop staring, and behind their eyes you can read their thoughts.

"_Now, what's wrong with __**this**__ one?"_

I almost want to yell at them. But at the same time, can I deny that I've been doing the same thing all week? A wave disgust sweeps over me; guilt for my own narrow-mindedness.

…

I push the thoughts aside, concentrating on the pangs of hunger that burn my guts like a wildfire. The scent of something delicious and spicy leads me to the promised land, a ramen stand, where I can get some lunch.

I'm handed my steaming bowl when a loud voice interrupts me.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Oh God, not now…

"Having break-er… lunch…" I answer, hoping she doesn't bust me.

"Breakfast?" Kairi asks, positioning herself in front of me. "You mean, you just got up?"

"Er…" Suddenly, sleeping all morning feels like a crime, "No, I meant lunch… honest."

She's not buying it.

"Brunch?" I suggest. She snatches my food out of my hand and glares at me. What the hell is this girl doing? "Hey!" I yell indignantly, "that's my breakfast!"

"What happened to it being your lunch?" Kairi teases, putting the bowl behind her back.

"That's my… whatever, it's my food!" I try to reach around her, but she tosses the bowl onto the ground, splattering the noodles and soup all over the cement floor. She places her hands on her hips and begins lecturing me.

"Did you really forget your dietary plan already? You need to be more conscious of your health, Sora! What about your heart?"

"My heart's fine the way it is!" Another glare. "Mostly!" All I get in response is a roll of the eyes, but I'm not about to concede. "It's not that bad of a heart! Certainly it can handle a bit of ramen now and again!"

Yeah, sure. And it handled a little running just fine, too. Kairi seems unconvinced, not surprising, as I haven't even managed to convince myself.

"Maybe so, but not if you're sleeping the day away all the time!" A devious look suddenly crosses her face. "Of course, if you'd been following a routine from the beginning you wouldn't be in this situation…"

"Hey," I interrupt her, "I've had a pretty eventful week, you know! For example, I almost died! And there was a lot of meeting people… and then… I was on the roof…"

"Which is no excuse for slacking off, you know. A little near death experience is no excuse for skipping basic training, like running in the morning." She nods, as if something important has just been decided. "So it's settled, then! You've seen the error of your ways and are willing to adhere to my routine, right? I'll see you bright and early in the morning? We'll be running buddies?" After every sentence, she puts her face closer and closer to mine.

"Er… you know, you'd already convinced me yesterday that this was a good idea. You don't have to convince me again." Not that I did a good job of being convinced. She's right about eating healthy, after all. And here I am, ordering something grossly unhealthy.

But delicious!

There are more important things than deliciousness, aren't there…"

Like staying alive?

If Kairi weren't here browbeating me for my poor decisions, I'd probably…

Wait a second.

A sudden question springs to mind.

"Hey, why the hell have you taken such an interest in my well-being?" Kairi simply shrugs and grins at me.

"You're the new guy. I figure you don't have any friends yet, right? Besides, I've caused you trouble all week, right? I owe you for not getting angry. And I told the nurse I would, anyway."

Uh…huh. Crazy little cute running girl wants to make me healthy.

Well, I suppose there are worse fates.

"Okay. That sounds…fine. Thanks for your concern. Tomorrow morning, then?" I figure that ends the conversation, so I turn to leave.

"Not so fast!" I feel a hand on my collar and in a second I've been yanked backwards.

"Hey, no need to be so rough! What do you want now?" I just wanna go back to my dorm and read. She looks almost wounded by my annoyed question.

"Thought you wanted the company." Her eyes narrow, "besides, you were just going to try sneaking some more of that ramen crap, weren't you?" Well, I wasn't going to, but now that she mentions it, that would've been a really good idea.

"I was not!"

Another glare.

"Okay, maybe a little…"

The glare continues.

"Okay, a lot." Jesus, I'm a danger to myself and others, aren't I? I get done agreeing that I need to be healthier, and then immediately start considering the next unhealthy habit that comes my way.

"I knew it! You can't be trusted!" She holds a strong grip onto my wrist, "now I definitely have to stick with you." This whole situation feels silly. I can only imagine what passersby think of the sight of me being lectured by a tiny girl half my size. I should just give up for now.

"Fine, do what you want." I concede, letting her drag me wherever she wants. Might as well make the best of this. "What do you want to do?"

Kairi thinks for a minute.

"Well, I promised Yuffie I'd stop by her mural, so let's do that!" I do have to confess that I'm slightly curious as to how her mural turned out myself, so again I consider there are worse fates. I give a nod of assent and I find myself almost dragged bodily through the crowd as Kairi races to our destination.

**STRIDE**

By the time we reach the dorms, I can feel my heart pounding. My heart shouldn't be pounding after just that. I take a few deep breaths, willing myself to calm down. I'm one of the most normal looking people in the school, but I still have to be here. Sometimes, I almost wish I'd lost a hand or something.

At least it'd be obvious that I belong.

But instead, I don't even look sick.

Even now, trying to catch my breath, I just look out of shape. Kairi looks back and notices my state of distress.

"You're not going to die on me, are you? Please don't! It'll be all my fault, and I don't want to deal with that kind of guilt. Besides, after the last time I really don't think I need to see that again, especially because the nurse will totally say it's all my fault." How cute, she's worried about me.

"N…nah, I-I'm…fine…" I take a few deep breaths before continuing, "guess I… need to start running after all."

"And you wanted to keep eating your greasy… whatever it was. See? It's a good thing I found you, right?"

Yes it was. "Maybe." Of course, I don't add that the only reason I'm in this state is because she dragged me across the school grounds. Unfortunately, further conversation is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Yuffie.

"Oh, it's you." She welcomes in her normal fashion, "Hello Kairi."

"Hey, Yuffie! I brought Sora along because he was going to give himself a heart attack!"

"I was not!" "We stopped by to see how the mural turned out!" Kairi yells, ignoring me completely.

Yuffie nods slowly, then points behind her. "Well, it's right there, you can see it pretty clearly." Hold on a second…

How long has Yuffie been standing here?

Has anyone even stopped by to look at it?

Are we the first ones?

Obviously we're not the first to see it, of course.

I mean, it's pretty big.

You'd be hard-pressed not to see it.

At the same time, I don't' think anyone's actually talked to Yuffie about it.

Anyone but us, that is.

I feel compelled to say something.

"It looks pretty good." I compliment.

"I'm still not happy with how it turned out. But I guess it'll do."

She seems almost resigned to it. I'm not sure what she expected as a result, but I guess she didn't quite get there.

We stand in front of the mural, taking it all in.

I try my best to concentrate on the composition of the thing. It's actually fairly interesting. The colors swoop and blend together, dragging me along with them. There's a dreamlike quality to the whole thing that makes me almost feel sleepy.

Try as I might, I can't see any Prussian blue.

Oh well, I'm sure it's there somewhere.

My feet start to hurt, but Yuffie doesn't seem inclined to move on.

Kairi speaks up.

"Hey Yuffie, have you eaten?" Kairi asks suspiciously, as Yuffie's the type of person to forget important things.

"Well, of course. You can't survive otherwise." Yuffie answers logically.

"What about in the past five hours?"

"Maybe. But I'm hungry again, so maybe that means I'm wrong." Kairi grins and claps her hands together.

"Good! Come get some food with us!" Yuffie nods in assent.

"Okay, but we should hurry before they notice I'm gone." Somehow, I don't think they'd care.

Whoever _they_ are.

As we head back to the food stalls, I cast a longing eye over the fried food.

No, I'd better not. I'm pretty sure Kairi wouldn't let me, anyway.

We find a nice spot on the grass and sit down to eat our purchases. Well, my purchases, anyway. Somehow I've wound up paying for all the food. Surprisingly, my _healthy _food is pretty good. Silence falls as Kairi and I eat and Yuffie stares at… something or other, occasionally eating a bite or two of her food. I finish my meal first, and lay back on the grass.

"Tired, Sora?" Kairi asks me, although I can't see where she is.

"A little, I guess."

"Well, don't oversleep or anything tomorrow morning. We're starting our morning runs, remember? Actually, that had slipped my mind. I was actually enjoying myself. Wandering around the festival with these two has actually been fun.

"Yeah… I'll set an alarm."

"You'd better be there! I'll get angry if you aren't!"

"God forbid."

"I don't think God comes into it. Unless there's some kind of freak accident and your alarm clock shorts out." Yuffie interjects our friendly banter with her own brand of logic. "That might be a random act of God."

"Well, don't cause any random acts of God." Kairi tells me, before taking another bite of her sandwich.

Suddenly, a plan forms itself in my mind. It's a plan that makes me feel kind of guilty, but I throw it into execution anyway. I deserve a little fried food, damnit! And anyway, I'm going to start running tomorrow, right? So, the actually routine all starts then, not now. Ergo, the dietary portion starts tomorrow too, ergo, I can have something unhealthy today. A sort of final farewell to all the stuff I used to eat with wild abandon before the hospital.

"Actually, I suppose I should head back to my room. I have some homework to do, and if I'm going to run in the morning I should make it an early night…" Her narrowed eyes pierce through my lie again.

"You sure you're not just going to sneak off and buy some of that fried stuff over there?" She accuses, giving me a threatening stare down.

"Nah, I'm too full to bother now." I pat my stomach for emphasis. "Besides, you two have cleaned me out anyway." Kairi giggles, it's a surprisingly pleasant sound.

Another pang of guilt.

She's got to know that I'm lying to her, doesn't she?

Or is she just that trusting?

I feel kind of like a monster.

"All part of my master plan, Sora." Kairi tells me coyly. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Thanks for the food! And for keeping us company!" And here I thought she was doing me a favor. Yuffie nods in agreement.

"I won't say 'See you tomorrow' because that would be like predicting the future, and I'm pretty sure I can't do that."

…

"Okay. Bye, you two." I feel oddly glad that I decided to leave my room today. Not a bad way to start my second week here, I suppose. Once I'm sure I'm out of Kairi's line of sight, I make a beeline for the food stands and buy some cake.

At least it's not fried, right?

It's slightly better than what I was planning to do.

I still feel a little bad about ling to Kairi, though.

She really does seem concerned about my health.

I'll make it up to her somehow.

Better head back to my room.

Hey, I _do_ have work to do.

My book waits for me, and I flop on to my bed and read through the fireworks display. Eventually all the walking around, or more accurately, running around, catches up to me.

I really am out of shape.

Kairi dragging me out in the morning to run might just be a good thing after all.

It's something to look forward to.

**INTRODUCTION SECTION COMPLETE**

**Wow, it's finally done. Six chapters in and the introduction section is finally complete. Here's the sneak peak, it's gonna be a bit short though.**

"You're late!"

To demonstrate, Kairi reaches down and puts her head through her legs.

"Oh… no, …wouldn't want you… to… overex…ert yourself."

Another triumph of medical science, I suppose.

The positioning of her arm also pulls her shirt upwards ever-so-slightly so that I can see a strip of her belly. I do my best to act the gentleman and not look, but the contrast of her skin against her red running shorts is rather arresting.

Crap.

"Maybe if I'm upside down…"

"Honestly, Sora, after I went through all the trouble of letting you run with me in the morning, you won't even show up at my track meet?"

**So next chapter, get ready for tons of cheery Kairi and quirky Yuffie. So until then, see ya.**

**~Breaking Barriers **


	7. Questions That Need Answering

**Yo, I'm back from the dead to give you guys chapter 6. The reason I couldn't upload this when I said I would was because my laptop actually exploded. Okay not really, it's battery just died and I had to wait two weeks for a replacement. In this chapter… not much happens. Enjoy.**

**Last time on Stride…**

**It was the festival.**

Not just any Saturday, though, but it's the festival.

**Roxas gives me some… advice.**

"Her! You sold your soul to the devil, and didn't get anything in return? What the hell is wrong with you, man?"

**I'm drafted into hanging out with Kairi for the rest of the day.**

"Fine, do what you want." I concede, letting her drag me wherever she wants. Might as well make the best of this.

**And… well… maybe this exercise thing isn't that bad.**

Kairi dragging me out in the morning to run might just be a good thing after all.

It's something to look forward to.

My alarm's beeping shatters the early morning quiet, and I find myself wondering where to find the motivation to rise. Class is still quite far off, but I agreed to run with Kairi in the mornings. Really, I'm not that interested in running as a hobby, or even a possible life-lengthening exercise. However, I feel obligated to follow through on my promise to her yesterday, which is why I find myself throwing on some running shorts and a light t-shirt. After taking my meds, I open the door into the cold hallway. Slowly, I descend down the stairs into the courtyard.

The cool morning air caresses my face as the morning sunshine causes the dew on the grass to sparkle, nearly blinding me at first. As I make my way down to the track, an ugly thought strikes me.

What if this is some sort of joke that Kairi's playing on me? Would that surprise me, really? Hell, I'd probably do it to the new guy, too.

At the very least, I'm sure Kairi and Yuffie made a bet on whether or not I'd actually show up. I feel a sense of trepidation as the track comes into view.

"You're late!" It would seem that Kairi is already there. What a relief.

"Not according to my watch. We're both early, in fact." I tell her, pointing at my black wristwatch.

"Damn. You've got me there." Kairi replies with a coy grin. She's sitting on the bleachers, decked out in her running gear, waiting somewhat patiently for me.

"I'm glad you're actually here. I was a afraid that this was a joke or something." I confess, hoping inside that this isn't just a really long-standing trick.

"Nah, I'd never make someone get up early for nothing." Oh thank God, "Plus, Yuffie owes me 1000 munny now! She didn't think you'd actually show up."

I knew it!

Well, nice to know that Kairi was on my side, at least.

She hopes off of the bleachers and begins stretching out. She's remarkable lithe, almost like a dancer. I set out to stretch as well, but I don't exactly remember how to stretch properly. It's been ages since I stretched for anything, if you don't count my one stint at running last week. Even then, I don't think I actually stretched beforehand. The specter of my long hospital stay rises up again. I can't say it was all that active before the hospital stay, though, so maybe I'm just being morose. Kairi giggles as she watches me stretch out.

"No no no Sora, you've got to hold it for longer than that!" She scolds me, pushing my back down farther.

"I-I'm trying! It kinda hurts, ya know…" I complain, holding back my squeals of pain.

"Ha! That's just because you're out of shape. You've got to get some flexibility in you, like this!" To demonstrate, Kairi reaches down and puts her head through her legs.

God bless you, Kairi.

"Er… I see. Is that the sort of thing I should strive for?"

"Of course! Flexibility is important for any runner. You'll be able to go faster the more you stretch out." Well, that makes no sense at all, but Kairi seems to believe it's true.

**LIFEEXPECTANCY-STRIDE**

With her help, I manage to stretch myself out properly. I can't help but notice that when she thinks about how to explain something to me, her mouth scrunches up in concentration.

It's adorable.

"Not bad, Sora. Come on, we'd better start running. We'll start off with just a mile, okay? That's four laps around the track, got it?"

"That sounds fine to me." This shouldn't be too hard, right? A hazy memory of running a mile for gym class surfaces in my mind.

Yeah, it wasn't that bad. Kairi sets a pretty good pace, and I fall in behind her.

"Try to keep up, okay Sora?"

"Got it."

We round the first curve without incident, though I can already feel my heart rate increasing slightly. By the second curve, I've started to breathe through my nose, but Kairi doesn't seem to be breaking a sweat. As if to punctuate her superiority, she turns around and starts running backwards.

"Are you doing okay, Sora?" She asks me, although I can't tell whether or not she's teasing me or genuinely concerned.

"Never… better." I answer between breaths. My pace has visibly slowed, while Kairi's is unaffected.

"Oh really? Maybe I should speed up then, hmm?" Definitly. Teasing.

"O-Oh… no, … wouldn't want you… to… overex…ert yourself." My heavy panting and wheezing makes the statement less convincing than I had hoped. Kairi simply smiles and turns around again.

"Well, you're the boss, Sora. We'll stay at this pace." She spins back around and enters a slow jog to match my sluggish pace.

I get the feeling I'm being mocked. If I weren't in such terrible shape, I'd probably feel offended. By the third lap, my breath is coming in ragged gasps. I'm also soaked in my own sweat. Gross. We round the curve to start our fourth lap, and Kairi looks back at me with a grin.

"Here we go!" She yells over her shoulder and takes off at a blinding speed while I stubbornly stick to my slower pace. By the time I get to the first turn, she's already rounding the second. As I struggle across the back stretch, Kairi continues running and catches up to me.

"Come on, Sora! You can do it!" Her encouraging words are lost, as I'm too focused on getting air into my lungs and ignoring the burning sensation in my legs. Part of me wants to reply with something like, "Maybe **you **can, but I'm about to die here!" But then again, I doubt I'm in the state to form words. Kairi keeps pace with me as I round the second turn and cross the finish line. I look to Kairi, and it seems that her sprint has gotten her sweating. It's actually caused her shirt to turn slightly translucent. I can barely see her black sports bra. I feel a vague stab of guilt for being the sort of guy who stares at a girl's chest, but my legs and chest are burning so badly I can't bring myself to care that much.

"Not bad for a first effort, Sora." Her congratulation falls on deaf ears, and her encouraging pat on the back feels more like a club to the spine.

"Ki-…kind of you… to… say so…" Kairi seems to be, if not out of breath, at least breathing a little more heavily than she was before we started running.

"Hey, I've got to get a few sprints in. You should walk around the track to cool down. Then, we can stretch out, and we'll be all done, okay?" The only thing I really pay attention to is the "all done" part, which sounds like a great idea. My legs are on fire, and my breathing is still heavy, but surprisingly my heart seems to be taking the strain well.

Another triumph of medical science, I suppose.

"You should put your hands behind your head. It makes it easier to catch your breath." She tells me as she sprints past me. It seems a little farfetched, but I remember my gym teacher teaching the same thing, so I give it a shot.

…

Surprisingly, she's right. This position seems really comfortable to me, I should probably do this more often. I begin to stroll around the track, happy to feel my breath coming back to me. There's a blur as Kairi sprints past me a second time. Watching her run is absolutely fascinating. It's not just because she's on prosthetics, though that _is_ interesting. The really interesting thing is the way her face changes. I can only catch glimpses of it as she runs by, but her eyes seem to come alive with a sort of fierce joy. It's as if there's nothing else in the world but her and the track. By the time I've gotten to the final stretch, Kairi has finished her sprinting. She's breathing heavily now, but she's wearing a satisfied grin on her face. She waves to me cheerily as I near her.

"Feeling better, right?"

"Actually, yeah."

"D'you want to take another lap around with me? I've got to cool down too, you know." Part of me would rather sit down, and not move, but something tells me that would be a bad idea. Besides, if I sit down, there may be no getting back up again.

"Sure, why not?" Kairi extends a hand, which I take to help me up from the bench. She's got here hands behind her head now as well, which makes her seem very relaxed. The positioning of her arms also pulls her shirt upwards ever so slightly so that I can see a small strip of her belly. I do my best to act the gentleman and not look, but the contrasts of her skin against her red running shorts is rather arresting. She asks me how I'm feeling, which brings me back to reality. How do I feel?

"Surprisingly good, actually. I'm sore and tired, but… surprisingly good." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize that they're true. Sure, part of me wanted to lie down and die, but I feel like I've accomplished something. It's almost like a glow throughout my body that persists despite the soreness.

"Yeah, that's the runner's high." Kairi informs me.

"Runner's high?" I ask, having never heard such a term. It sounds made up, like a word used to substitute the actual name.

"Yeah, it's got something to do with… adrenaline?" Kairi thinks for a moment as we wak, trying to remember. Then she shrugs and grins at me. "I don't actually remember. It's a good feeling though, isn't it? Better than sex, right?"

I open my mouth to respond shortly before processing what she's just said.

…

Kairi watches my face for a few moments before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter.

"Sorry, sorry! I couldn't resist! You're just too easy!"

"Why did I agree to run with you again?" Kairi just laughs harder. Taking a hold of my forearm, she tilts it, allowing her to get a better view of my watch. Her face changes the moment she sees the time.

"Oh no! We'd better get a move on, Sora! Class is in an hour, and I need to shower!"

"I should probably do that as well…" We've both developed a bit of a smell, although I won't point it out on her side.

"I need to see the nurse, too… maybe she'll write me a note for being late!"

"Why do you need to see the nurse?" I ask, seeing as she didn't look sick when we were running. To answer, Kairi simply points to her prosthetics, as if that would explain everything.

"It's important to check for irritation. You know, from sweat or friction. Normally I only go after practice, but if we're going to be doing these morning runs then I guess I'll see him twice a day."

Wait, so she's only started doing these runs since I showed up?

"If it's more convenient for you to run with me at a later time…" I mean, if she's running in the morning because of me. We can always reschedule it. But she interrupts me with a light laugh.

"Don't be silly, Sora! I've been meaning to start running in the morning for a while now. But if I didn't have a partner to run with, I'd be less likely to keep a routine. It's always harder to blow off a commitment if you're going to let someone else down, you know? So, you're gonna be my running partner! After all, we both need the exercise."

"Yeah, right." Did it have to be me though? I guess I can't complain too much though. Kairi is pretty fun to hang out with. And she's right. I do need the exercise. Doctor's orders even. Kairi waves a quick goodbye to me.

"Right, I'm off! Come have lunch with us, okay?"

"What?"

"Lunch! You know, the meal? In the middle of the day? Come have it with us!"

"Where?"

"The roof top. Rin likes it up there."

"When?"

"Lunchtime, when else? That's a stupid question."

"Yeah, but I sort of felt the need to ask all three for completeness' sake." Kairi laughs and grins. I don't think I've ever seen a girl smile so much before.

"Not bad, Sora. See ya!" With that, Kairi takes off like an animal for the school building. I guess she's going to see the nurse first. I hurry back to my room and hop into the shower, only to find that the water takes a while to heat up.

The shock of the cold water nearly kills me. I manage to warm the water a bit and spend some quality time feeling my muscles loosen. My heart, surprisingly, feels the least bothered by the run. I suppose that's a good thing, even if it does make me feel like a bit of a wuss. I mean, at least I'd have an excuse beyond "I'm out of shape" if my heart were bothering me. Guess I'll have to keep this running thing up, otherwise I'm sure Kairi won't let me hear the end of it. It's only after I get out and dirty myself off that I realize that I've only got ten minutes left to put my clothes on and get to class.

Crap.

**LIFEEXPECTANCY-STRIDE**

The hands on the clock finally set me free from the tedium of yet another fun-filled class. Getting up from my seat proves to be more of a problem that I anticipated. My legs are killing me from the morning's run. Maybe doing these runs with Kairi isn't such a hot idea after all.

Still, the run's given me a hell of an appetite.

I'm halfway down the hallway to the cafeteria when I remember that I've got my lunch with me. My parents saw fit to provide me with some prepackaged stuff when I moved in, and a good thing too. The hallway is packed with students headed for the cafeteria. Going back is like swimming upstream, but I've got an appointment to keep on the roof. It takes me a moment to find the staircase leading up to the rooftop, but I'm willing to bet that Kairi and Yuffie aren't up there by now anyway. In fact, I think I saw Kairi among the bodies in the hallway headed for the cafeteria. I step out of the door to the roof and take a deep breath. The fresh air blowing against my face and body almost makes my legs hurt less.

"Maybe if I'm upside down…" Some part of me wants to be surprised that Yuffie's already here, but the other half knew better.

"What's that going to accomplish?" I ask her.

"Things in the clouds." She answers plainly.

"Couldn't you just… look at them right-side up?" Yuffie rolls her eyes in something approaching exasperation.

"If I were to that, I wouldn't get a new perspective."

"Is upside down really a new perspective?" Rin looks pensive. Ah ha! That caught her off guard.

"You may have a point."

…

"Maybe sideways." With that, she gets up and lies down on the bench to look at the sky.

I give up.

Fortunately, Kairi chooses that moment to burst through the door carrying two bags, nearly taking the door off its hinges.

"Sorry it took me so long! There were a ton of people in line." She drops the first bag in front of Yuffie and takes a seat on the bench next to her.

"Do you buy Yuffie's lunch for her?" I ask, making conversation as she opens the contents of the plastic bag.

"Sometimes, yeah. I'd have Yuffie buy my lunch for me in return, but I'm not sure how she'd carry it." Kairi answers with a slight shrug.

"Plus, I'd never buy her lunch." Yuffie adds, with a coy smile.

If Yuffie's offended by Kairi's comment, she doesn't show it. Kairi sniffs indignantly.

"How ungrateful of you."

I'm not sure whether the two are joking with one another or if I'm witnessing the beginnings of a catfight. The two girls stare at one another for a few tense moments before breaking into smiles.

"Hey Kairi," Yuffie asks, "do you think being upside down is a new perspective on things?"

Didn't we already have this conversation? Kairi looks thoughtful, apparently giving the question some thought. After a deep and profound pause, she speaks.

…

"I have no idea."

Well, at least she's as lost as I am.

"Hey Sora, you're coming to the track meet, right?" Kairi's question comes out of the blue and catches me off guard.

"Um… I don't know yet?" It's the safest answer you can give, but Kairi looks unconvinced.

"Honestly, Sora, after I went through all the trouble of letting you run with me in the morning, you won't even show up at my track meet?" Wasn't she the one that asked me to run with her? Actually, she didn't even give me a choice in the matter.

"Wait, no, I didn't say that…" She beams at me as if I'd just agreed to give her a million dollars.

"So you will come after all! That's great!"

"I didn't say that either!"

"I'll be going too," Yuffie points out, "so I'll make sure he comes, Kairi."

"Good idea, Yuffie! Maybe we can get some food or something after the meet's over?"

I feel like I've just been conned, but not by these two. More like some outside force, pushing me irrevocably towards my destiny.

… Or maybe I shouldn't read books that feature conspiracy theories so heavily. Otherwise I might wind up talking like Roxas. Still, I suppose that I've got to show up now. I don't think that I could stand against both of them being disappointed. I'd never hear the end of it.

"When's the meet, again?" I ask her, but she just gives me a confused look.

"Next week, silly! I just told you a few days ago."

"No you didn't."

"I forgot? Well, you won't forget to come though, will you?" She starts pouting, so I hastily reply.

"Of course I won't! I'll even make a note on a calendar or something!" Yuffie nods sagely.

"That's probably a good idea, you know. Unless time changes its course." Kairi's eyes suddenly widen and she turns to Yuffie.

"Can it do that?"

"It hasn't yet, but you never know…" Yuffie answers with a noncommittal shrug.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped if it happens." Kairi proclaims, with a shrug of her own.

"Well, not unless you're a time traveler or something." Yuffie points out.

"Hey… you don't actually think that could happen, do you?" I ask them both. I'm actually not sure if they're telling the truth, or if they're keeping up a really long joke. To answer, Yuffie just shrugs again. That seems to be her default response to anything.

"I suppose not. But I reserve the right to change my opinion at a moment's notice." For Yuffie's standards, this statement makes a disturbing amount of sense. The fact that I realize this now frightens me a bit. I wonder if Kairi gets this feeling too. If she does, she's certainly not showing it. She just merely nods.

"As expected."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuffie asks the redhead, who dons another shrug. It's like she's using Yuffie's weapons against her.

"Your response is the sort of thing I'd expect from you, that's all."

"Am I really that predictable?" Kairi's smile seems to border on gloating.

"Nah, it's just that your unpredictability is pretty predicable."

"Well that's all right then."

I don't get the chance to see whether Yuffie's being serious or not, as the bell rings. I didn't notice the lunch period slipping by at all. Hanging out with these two was far too interesting. Kairi jumps, a look of panic painted on her face.

"Oh no! I needed to stop by my room to pick up my notebook for the next class!"

"Don't you wish you had a time machine now?" Yuffie asks, a gloating smirk on her face. Her tone of voice is smug, like she's just won the argument with that line alone, but Kairi ignores her comment and turns to me.

"Sorry Sora, but could you make sure our garbage gets thrown away? I usually clean up myself, but I've gotta run!"

"Uh… yeah, no problem." Kairi darts away with an urgency I'm starting to expect from her.

I don't bother asking Yuffie why she couldn't help. She already seems to be preoccupied with something else entirely as she wanders off. She's probably used to Kairi taking care of the cleanup, and for some reason I doubt Kair's ever raise the issue with her. Cleaning up from lunch doesn't take long, so I have plenty of time to toss our garbage and get to class.

**LIFEEXPECTANCY-STRIDE6-3**

Selphie greets me with a wave and a devious grin as I walk through the door.

"Didn't see you in the cafeteria, Sora-chan…" Oddly perceptive of the airhead brunette, but I ignore that.

"Uh… yeah, I decided it was too crowded there." Her grin gets even wider.

"Oh really? Are you sure you weren't participating in an illicit ren-dez-vous?" Each syllable of the last word is said with more stress than the last, her eyes smug with knowing.

"W…what? What are you talking about?" She points an accusing finger at me.

"You! You were on the roof, right? With both Yuffie and Kairi, no less! You Casanova, you!" Ugh, so that's what this is about.

"All we did was have lunch!" Selphie bursts into laughter, drawing the attention of several classmates.

"Wahaha~! You're so adorable when you blush like that, Sora-chan!" She gives me a conspiratorial wink, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"There's no secret!"

"Oh?" Selphie seems disappointed and then brightens up again. "Well, time will tell~!"

I don't know what the hell she's taking about, but blessedly, our teacher comes in, and the class starts.

**LIFEEXPECTANCY-STRIDE**

Another day of class has finally dragged itself to a close.

Unexpectedly, I managed to stay awake for the whole day.

I'm pretty sure that counts as a miracle.

I pack up my bag, but my legs seem unwilling to stand up for a moment.

I guess the run took a lot out of me.

I head down the hallway and make my way to my room.

I sit down and half-heartedly chip away at my homework for a while, feeling like a vulture picking at a particularly unsavory carcass. It knows this is what it eats, but it's not sure that it shouldn't be ordering take out instead, and this is where the analogy breaks down.

...

…

…

**Ugh!**

I don't think I can take this, but it's important to get my work done.

"Now… let's see… what was I supposed to be looking over again?"

I know it's a losing battle, but I fight it anyway. Halfway through my math homework, I put my pencil down.

This isn't working. I need a distraction. Unfortunately, my options are rather slim.

I'm not in the mood to read right now.

If I got to the student council room, I'll just end up doing work.

I refuse to go to Roxas's room. I'm bored, not in a masochistic mood.

And god only knows where everyone else is, except for…

…

Well, I suppose that's an option.

I grab my shoes and head for the track. Kairi's probably down there.

**LIFEEXPECTANCY-STRIDE**

Track practice is ending as I arrive at the track. The sun's beginning to dip low in the sky. Has it really gotten that late already? I can see a familiar figure run towards me at a breakneck pace, before the small redhead stops in front of me.

"What are you doing down here, Sora?" She asks with a confused look on her face, one that is swiftly replaced with an all-knowing smirk. "Come to spy on me, have you?" I shrug in response. To be honest, I'm not sure why I'm down here.

"Eh, I didn't have anything better to do."

I figure that's the most honest answer I can give. At the moment, Kairi's the only person I can think of who I could hang out with.

"So… I'm your last resort, am I? Nobody cool around, so I'll just go see Kairi, is that what you thought?" She actually looks angry. A chance for some teasing of my own presents itself.

"Yeah, pretty much." I reply nonchalantly. Kairi pouts, widening her eyes to give the maximum amount of puppy dog resemblance. "Kidding! I was kidding!" I hastily add, hoping not to concur her wrath.

"So you are down here to stalk me!" Wait, what?

"Why would I bother stalking you anyway? It's not like you require stalking. If you're not asleep or in class, you're down here, right?"

Kairi laughs at this comment. "Well, you're not all wrong, I suppose. But you forgot about eating. I do that too, you know. Plus, I hang out with Yuffie sometimes… so really I might take some effort to stalk."

"What do you two do together anyway? You don't seem to have a lot in common." Kairi puts her hands on her hips and assumes a superior air.

"That's what _you_ think. I've got all sorts of hidden hobbies, you know."

"Oh really, like what?" She puts her head to one side, as if she's trying to remember what it is she does in her free time.

"Well… Yuffie and I go out shopping sometimes." Well, I guess that makes sense. Kairi _is_ a girl, but Yuffie?

"Yuffie comes with you?"

"We usually swing by the art supply store." Oh, well that explains it. "Plus, she likes this music store that sells all kinds of weird sounding stuff. She says it helps focus her."

"Hm… I see. Any other hidden hobbies?" Kairi wags a finger at me.

"Now now, why would I go and reveal all my dark secrets to you? We hardly know one another!" Somehow, I think that's all that Kairi has in the way of hobbies. Still, I don't think my question's been answered.

"Even if you do have a few hobbies, I still don't see why you hang out with Yuffie so much. I mean, she's kind of weird, isn't she?" This comment causes her to burst into peals of loud laughter.

"Ha! That's the understatement of the year!"

"Then why? I mean, you're a lot better at conversation and stuff, so I figure you'd hang out with a lot of people, but I think I've only ever seen you with Yuffie."

"Hey, I hang out with plenty of people that aren't Yuffie! You just don't see me doing it because I'm not in your classes." She seems unusually defensive.

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain why you hang out with Yuffie."

I'm not even sure hwy I want to know this. I guess it's because lunch was just so strange. Kairi shrugs, looking very "Yuffie-ish".

"It's because we have similar outlooks." If you were to ask me the least likely answer to my question, that would be it.

"What do you mean?"

"It's like…" She pauses for a moment to figure out how to word her answer, "okay, Yuffie paints and stuff, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I run." I don't see where this is going.

"And?"

"And… that's why we're similar."

…

…

That makes absolutely _no_ sense.

"You lost me." Kairi frowns, as if trying to figure out her answer.

"Well… maybe it's that we do things for the same reasons." Huh? "You know, we follow our passions."

"So, you're passionate about running and Yuffie's passionate about art, is that it?

"Well, sort of. Well, Yuffie explained it to me once, but I don't know how much of it I followed." She admits with a bashful grin. I don't blame her. I think any explanation from Yuffie would probably confuse and disorient.

She pauses a bit before continuing.

"She says… that we both chase after an extreme. Like, she's always trying to find a new way to show a particular feeling or something. And I run because of the feeling I get from it. And since we don't allow ourselves to be slowed down by anything, we make a connection based on that."

"What do you mean 'slowed down by anything?'" Kairi looks surprised and points to her legs.

…

Oh, duh.

"You know, because I'm a runner. And Yuffie's a painter even without arms. So we respect each other's determination, and that's why we hang out. I think."

…

"Honestly, it's not something I think much about," After a slight pause, Kairi continues, "We just get along. I think that's really all that matters."

Well, I suppose she's got a point there. Another question strikes me, and since I've got nothing better to do, I ask it.

"So what got you so into running, anyway?"

"Oh, I've been running since I was really little! My dad was a runner, and so as soon as I could walk, he started teaching me how to run. It was our father/daughter thing, you know? Our own… mutual… hobby…" A shadow crosses her face, and I'm shocked to see her looking so…sad.

Did something happen between them?

"Oh man, I don't have that much time left!" Her expression goes back to normal in an instant, as if that shadow had never been there. "Sorry, but I've gotta get a few more laps in before I go see the nurse!" She races off around the track, hair streaming in the wind. It seems to me she's going a lot faster than she was this morning.

As she rounds the track, I catch a glimpse of her face. It's much the same as it was this morning, but her eyes seem to have taken on a harder edge.

I guess she's right.

I don't really know much about her.

I watch her run for a little while, and then stand up to head back to my room.

"Hey!" She spots me leaving and waves to catch my attention. "Don't forget! Same time tomorrow morning, got it?"

I nod in response, and I head back to my room.

Homework beckons.

**LIFEEXPECTANCY-STRIDE**

I can't sleep.

My body's tired, but my mind is kept awake, staring at the ceiling in the hollow darkness of my room. I grasp desperately for a thread of thought, hoping that I can run my brain into the ground. All I can think of is how I can't think of anything.

This isn't productive at all.

I wonder if this is a side effect of my medication, though it seems odd for it to take so long to show up. Then again, maybe I'm just not as used to my new surroundings as I'd like to think.

I don't know, but for whatever reason, I'm awake and I shouldn't be.

…

This is ridiculous.

Ignoring my body's stiffness, I get out of bed and look at my clock.

Four in the morning. Last time I checked it was only one, so maybe I slept a little.

I don't know.

I throw on some clothes and head out of my room.

A walk might do me some good.

As I push open the big double doors to enter the courtyard, I'm surprised at how chill the air is compared to the relative warmth of the day. I can almost see my breath as I wander the campus, waiting for the sun to come up or for me to fall asleep.

At this point, either option works for me.

I find myself at the track – where for the first time, Kairi's not out running.

I suppose that makes sense; it's way too early, even for her.

The bleacher seats are cold, but at this point I welcome the sensation. The sun is starting to show its face over the horizon, and I know with an awful certainty that I'll get no more sleep tonight. The sun's steadily strengthening rays start to warm me up, and I watch the dew on the ground begin to steam slightly.

My mind calms down, just a little, as my eyes do the same, shutting away the deserted track before me.

**There's chapter six, done and out. Now, I've learned not to open my big cake hole and make promises I probably won't keep, so don't expect the next chapter to be out in a week. But since it's summer break, I might be able to update a bit more quickly. Here are some lines from the next chapter to hold you over.**

"Huh? Where? Wha?"

"You know Sora, it's not polite to stare."

I'm in mud, or molasses, or tar.

She looks beautiful.

"You're an asshole."

"We had to amputate her legs after a really nasty car wreck. It nearly killed her, and succeeded-"

"I was just seducing Sora, that's all."

**Um yeah, so you can **_**try**_** to guess who says what, and you'll probably be wrong. Except from anything without quotes, since that's always Sora. Welp, peace out.**

**~Breaking Barriers**


	8. Beautiful Energy

Someone's shaking me.

"Hey, wake up!"

"Huh? Where? Wha?"

I guess I fell asleep after all.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes as Kairi starts chastising me.

"What are you doing out here? You're gonna catch a cold or something!" Kairi bends over me with a worried expression. I'm still a little groggy, so my response comes out in a mumble.

"Couldn't sleep. Watched the sun come up." My stoic response makes Kairi giggle.

"Sounds like something Yuffie would say." I shrug, feeling the stiffness that comes with sleeping on a bench for a few hours.

"Is it? I wouldn't know." Kairi grins a little at my, somewhat cranky, response.

"So, couldn't sleep, eh? Obviously we need to run you harder today!" Even though I've only known her for about a week, this seems to be a very Kairi-ish response to the problem.

"Hey, my body was plenty exhausted after yesterday! My mind was just racing, that's all." Kairi simply shakes her head in disapproval.

"I don't see the difference. If you run hard enough, your brain will get tired too." I'm seriously questioning the wisdom of doing this first thing in the morning. I don't know if my grades will be able to handle me tiring my brain out like that.

Kairi pulls me up from the bleachers with surprising strength for someone her size.

"Now come on, Sora! We've got work to do!" I don't actually know if I'm up to this today, to be honest. I mean, I obviously didn't get much sleep… and what sleep I got was on the bleachers!

"I… don't know… should I really be running?"

Kairi glares at me.

Good heavens.

"What are you talking about? Of course you should be running! How else do you expect to work out the kinds? You've been sleeping on the bleachers, for heaven's sake! The best way to get that soreness out is to run around a little. Now stop hiding in the bleachers and get down here!" Kairi seems pretty annoyed, and there's no arguing against her. I'm pretty sure she'd kill me if I didn't do as she said.

I get to my feet and hop down to the track. The sun is warming things up rather nicely, I think. Kairi and I begin to stretch out, and I find myself once again hard pressed not to stare. If this is how I have to wake up every day, I might be able to get used to this.

"You know Sora, it's not polite to stare."

"I-I wasn't staring! I swear!" Kairi raises an eyebrow and considers me for a minute, as if evaluating my response.

There's a brief moment where I'm afraid for my life.

But then she smiles and laughs, shaking her head slowly.

"Honestly, Sora, you didn't have to deny it so strenuously." In response, I clap my hands together and go for a change of subject.

"So! That's enough stretching, right?" Kairi gives a casual shrug.

"Do you feel stretched? That's really how you tell." Well, I do feel up to the run, if that's what she means.

"Yeah, I feel ready to go." I reassure her.

"Same as yesterday, okay? We'll just run for a mile at a steady pace. Don't worry about going really fast, just worry about keeping the pace, got it?"

"You're the boss." Kairi grins again, and we take off around the track.

…

…

I think I'm going to die.

We're not even done with the first lap, and my legs are on fire. My breath is coming in ragged gasps. I can feel sweat pouring down my brow, and we've only now just rounded the second turn.

"Come on, Sora! You've got three more laps to go!"

I can't do this…

I can't do this.

I can't do this!

I think I might hurl.

Somehow we're on the second lap. Kairi's not even sweating.

How the hell does she do this so effortlessly?

For some reason I'm still moving.

She's like a machine.

…

…

Third lap. What happened to the second?

"Almost there, Sora!" Kairi yells over her shoulder.

Liar! We've got another two!

"I… ca… can't… do… this."

Kairi whirls around and begins running backwards. Her face is a mask of anger that surprises me.

"Never say that! If you say that, you'll have already lost. Keep moving! If you're alive, you can keep moving, damnit!"

Whoa, language. We're on the fourth lap now.

She really seems to want me to keep going.

Legs, move. Move. Move. They feel so sluggish.

I'm in mud, or molasses, or tar.

I can't go on.

…

I'll go on.

"Final stretch, Sora! Give it all you've got!"

I pump my legs as fast as they'll go. They keep refusing to obey my commands.

Somehow, I keep moving.

…

…

Somehow, I finish.

That's it, Sora! I knew you had it in you!"

The anger Kairi showed a lap ago is gone, replaced with pride. She's positively radiant, like she just won the gold medal or something. I stagger to a stop and fall to my hands and knees, gaspin for air.

My heart is pounding far harder than it has in a long time.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

Oh God.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

Please slow down, heart.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

Just slow down. Stop racing.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

I cough, and for some reason, feel a grin crossing my face.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

So this is how I die, huh?

Trying to stay healthy?

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

How ironic.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

I'm all ready to give up right there.

**Bum Bum. Bum Bum.**

But then, I feel my heart slow down.

Bum Bum. Bum Bum.

Two hands grab under my arms and tug upwards. I look up to see Kairi standing over me, with a mixture of delight and worry.

"On your feet!" Kairi orders me, "Come on, you'll never catch your breath that way."

Somehow, I manage to stand. I try to raise my arms above my head, but they feel like lead. I start to walk around the track while Kairi keeps close to me, like she's afraid I'll fall over or something.

She may not be far off.

I feel terrible, and say so.

Kairi laughs at my own expense.

"But you finished, didn't you? You said you couldn't, but you did. Isn't that worth it?"

I'm not sure, and I don't really have the breath to say so.

But that small grin I felt on my face earlier hasn't left.

So what if my heart's weak?

I still survived this morning.

Maybe I'll survive tomorrow, too.

As soon as it becomes apparent that I'm not going to suddenly keel over, Kairi takes off on her sprints. I don't know how the hell she can manage to sprint after running a mile, but I guess she's in much better shape than me.

Once again, as I walk around the track, I can't help watching Kairi sprint. It's weird, but she's like a different person when she's pushing herself. Last time, I noticed her eyes, but this time it's her mouth that catches my attention.

She's not wearing her normal grin.

She's still smiling, but there's a tightness to it.

It's almost grim, like she's fighting a losing battle but doesn't care.

She seems to be running harder, like she did yesterday.

Sweat has started to pour down her face, but she keeps going.

Her mouth finally opens as she can no longer get enough air through her nose.

As she passes me once more, legs pumping, arms swinging in time, and her lips slightly parted…

She looks beautiful.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

After we've both taken some laps around the track to cool down, Kairi changes back to her usual self. The transformation I saw in her is gone.

"Not bad today, Sora." There's almost admiration in her voice.

"What do you mean? I would've stopped if you hadn't yelled at me." Kairi colors a little, seemingly embarrassed about her outburst.

"Haha… sorry about that. I just… can't stand to see people give up. Especially about something like this. Saying 'I can't go on' is silly when you're obviously going on while you're saying it. That's' what this is all about."

"What, saying silly things?" Kairi sticks her tongue out at me.

"Idiot. I mean showing that you're alive."

Showing that I'm alive, huh? I didn't know it had to be so painful.

But it does feel pretty good, despite that.

"Besides," Kairi continues, "this is one of the hardest days."

"What do you mean?"

"Whenever you start a workout, it's difficult the first day, really hard the second, and the third day is easier. You'll still get days that are really hard, but they'll pop up less and less."

"So this will eventually get really easy, huh?" I ask, feeling a bit skeptical.

"Yeah, of course. But then you have to increase the difficulty, or you'll never get ahead. You'll just get complacent, and you'll lose the sense of accomplishment."

"So I'll have to run more than just four laps?" Ugh, what a pain.

"Yep! But not for a while, you'll have to be careful, you know."

Suddenly, a thought strikes Kairi, and her face lights up.

"Got it!"

"Got what?"

"You can come with me to see the nurse! That way you won't fall over dead or something!" Kairi answers with a cheerful smile.

How charming.

"Um… when?"

"Right now, of course! You'll need a shower and everything, right? We don't have much time, then." Grabbing my hand, she's off, pulling me along with her.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

"My goodness, but you're in a hurry today, aren't you, Kairi?" I have no idea how we got to the nurse's office so quickly, but here we are. The nurse grins and Kairi and seems to completely ignore me. "You've got plenty of time to take a shower and get to class, you know. There's no need to run through the hallways like that. I could hear you coming a mile away!"

Somehow, it doesn't seem like she's actually scolding Kairi at all. It's like this is a sort of routine between the two of them.

Kairi does a passable imitation of remorse.

"I'm sorry! I won't ever do it again!"

The nurse and Kairi both laugh at some private joke.

Suddenly, Aerith notices me.

"Ah, hello Sora. What brings you here?"

"Well, I've been-"

"Sora's officially joined me on my morning runs!" I start to explain the situation, but Kairi cuts me off. "I thought he might need to visit you so that he doesn't die or anything."

The nurse raises her eyebrows in mock horror.

"Yes, that would certainly put me out of a job fast, wouldn't it?" She says with a small laugh, "Well then, Sora, let's have a look at you. Lift up your shirt, will you?" I'm suddenly very conscious of the fact that Kairi's in this room with me, and I blush in spite of myself. Aerith seems to sense my discomfort, but it only seems to amuse her.

"A bit shy, are we?" She makes an apologetic bow to Kairi, "Sorry Kairi, I tried to get you a free show, but it doesn't seem to have worked." Kairi stiffens slightly and fires a look of annoyance at her.

"You're such a jerk!" Kairi bows to me apologetically, "I'll wait outside, okay Sora?"

I begin to stammer that it's not really a big deal, she doesn't have to leave, but she's already out the door and the nurse is laughing as she watches her go.

"Still got it! Ha!"

"I don't follow."

She laughs again, like she's in on some joke that's over my head.

"I can still get her flustered." She begins explaining, "It's a competition of sorts we've had going on for a while now." That sounds incredibly sinister to me, and it seems as if Aerith realizes that too. "Er… that sounded a lot worse than it actually is, come to think of it."

"I wasn't gonna say anything…" I reassure, but she cuts me off.

"No no, you're right. I should fill you in so that you don't get the wrong idea. I'm actually relatively new here, you see. I got hired on the same year Kairi started going here. Before that, I worked with Kairi during her initial rehab following her accident."

Hold on, what?

"We had to amputate her legs after a really nasty car wreck. It nearly killed her, and succeeded-" She shuts up abruptly. I blink at receiving this unexpected piece of news. "Well, that's not my place to say. Anyway, we've known each other for quite a while. So we have a slightly more familiar relationship than is strictly professional." She seems embarrassed, like she's done something stupid. I guess she's really worried about that. I wave a hand to let her know it's not a big deal.

"Don't worry about it. I promise I'm going to be discreet." I had been wondering about what caused Kairi to lose her legs, and that was one of the scenarios I thought of. There were only so many ways that could have happened, but actually hearing about the facts… it's still a little shocking.

"Well, thanks. You're a good kid, Sora." She nods, "I can see why Kairi became friends with you. She's quite indomitable, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Haha, you didn't see her learning to walk. She'd go for so much longer than the others in the hospital. She refused to quit. Normally it takes years to get to a point where you can even think about running again. Kairi, on the other hand, did it all in a year." She almost seems proud of her, like a mother who watches her daughter win a competition. "Hell, she'd probably have done it faster if not for the fact that we wouldn't let her."

"Wouldn't let her? Why not?"

Her face grows a bit dark, but her reminiscing smile stays. "Because she'd go for so long that her legs would start bleeding where they met her prosthetics. It's a real concern – it's why she comes by every day after she runs. To say nothing of the risk of infection if her legs get cut and her prosthetics are dirty." She takes a sip of her coffee, before turning back to me. "But enough about that, if we don't get you on your way soon, Kairi will think we're up to something." As she says this, she gives a wink and begins checking my hearbeat.

The stethoscope is way too cold.

…

She really should've heated it up or something before she used it.

…

After a few moments, she leans back, satisfied.

"Well, you sound pretty good to me, Sora. You didn't have any chest pain while running, did you?"

"No, not really. I had some trouble catching my breath, though – and my heart was racing by the end, too." The nurse frowns as I say this, but then she just shrugs.

"It's probably just because you're out of shape… but if you don't improve, then you should let me know, okay? Don't push yourself too much – and of course if you have any chest pain, come to me immediately, got it?" With those words, I put my shirt back on, and the nurse leans out of the doorway to call in Kairi.

"What took you so long?" She complains, "Now I'm going to be late!"

The nurse gives me a look.

"I was just seducing Sora, that's all."

"What? Come on, what have I told you about seducing my friends?" I'd expected Kairi to be shocked by this, but instead she seems merely annoyed, scolding Aerith as if she were a child stealing cookies. Meanwhile, I'm trying hard not to blush at the nurse's innuendo.

"I'll try not to do it again, Kairi, but I fear that young Sora may be lost to you forever!" The nurse 'apologizes', making grand gestures.

"Not freaking likely."

…

Oh shit, did I say that out loud? Both the nurse and Kairi regard me for a moment before bursting into laughter again.

"Told you he was funny, didn't I?" Kairi comments, jabbing Aerith in the ribs. Huh, I guess she does talk to the nurse about a lot stuff.

"Well Sora, you should probably get moving." The nurse tells me. "You still need a shower before class starts, don't you?" Crap! She's right! I've only got a half hour!

"Ah! Th-Thanks for your time. See you later, Kairi!" I dash out of the room as Aerith begins to remove Kairi's prosthetics. As I head down the hallway, I can just barely hear the nurse's voice drifting after me.

"Kairi, you've got to be more careful…"

I make it back to my room and shower in record time. It occurs to me that I've already been up for four hours, and class hasn't even started yet.

This is going to be a really, really long day.

I hope I don't fall asleep in class.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

The morning sunlight streaming through my window wakes me up instead of my alarm, and I realize that it must be Sunday. Kairi has kindly decided to give me weekends off from our morning runs. I don't actually know if I woke up at all yesterday, or if I just slept through the entire day. My legs groan in protest as I lift myself out of bed. All this running has really taken its toll on my body. Still, I can't say that Kairi was lying to me.

It has gotten a little easier.

I'd been worried that the runs would start to wear on my nerves, but thus far I haven't minded them that much.

Well, it's only really been a week. I suppose there's plenty of time for me to start dreading the sound of my alarm in the morning.

Not that I could ever skip out now.

As Kairi said, it's harder to stop a routine when there's another person counting on you. And frankly, I don't think I'm equipped to deal with a disappointed Kairi. She'd probably give me those puppy-dog eyes and I'd feel terrible about myself. Which reminds me… wasn't I supposed to do something today?

…

…

"_Hey, you're coming to my track meet on Sunday, right? What am I talking about, of course you are. Right?"_

_Those puppy-dog eyes again._

"_O-Of course I'm going!"_

"_Exactly! So don't forget, okay?"_

…

…

Shit.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

I soon find myself quite suddenly surrounded by a crowd of people, all turning out to see our track team compete with another school like this one. I'll admit, it's almost comforting to know we're not the only school like this. After you see that there can be _two _schools with a bunch of… defective kids, well…

You stop feeling so defective.

You stop feeling unique, which in most cases would be a bad thing, but in this case it sure as hell isn't.

That's part of this school's appeal, I guess.

Learn that you're not unique – hell, learn that there are a lot of others who would kill to be saddled with your problem instead of whatever they're dealing with.

Some of the kids here aren't here because they're missing a leg or they have a heart condition.

Some of them might be here because they're as good as dead in two, maybe three years, if they're lucky. And that's only if they get the right sort of care.

It's a bitter sort of comfort to be able to say, "Well, at least I've got a chance of being alive through college," but, there it is.

I'm brought out of my rather morbid musings by the appearance of Yuffie near the entrance to the bleachers.

"You came." She points out bluntly.

"Of course. I said I would, didn't I?" Of course, I omit how I nearly forgot.

"That doesn't necessarily imply that you had to follow through. Lots of people say things and don't mean them."

"Well, I don't." Yuffie shrugs. Seemingly bored with our conversation, she turns on her heel and heads back towards the stands.

…

"I owe Kairi money now." She tells me, changing the subject.

"Why's that?"

"I didn't think you'd show up. Kairi did. So I owe her five hundred munny."

"You two bet an awful lot, don't you?"

Another shrug from my armless companion.

"I don't think so." Together, we enter the bleachers, and Yuffie nods upwards.

"Up there. I came out to see if you'd come." For the bet, I presume. Yuffie leads the way, and soon we've settled down on an almost empty bench. There's an older woman sitting next to Yuffie, probably someone's mother. She's got rather long hair hanging down her back with a hairband. On seeing Yuffie, she gives her an oddly familiar-seeming grin.

"Well, this is surprising." The woman comments, attracting Yuffie's attention, "I thought you went to get a snack, not a boy."

"Huh?"

"A snack?" Both Yuffie's and my reaction are simultaneous, both equally confused.

"A snack… I wondered why I was down there." With another shrug, Yuffie lets the matter go and stares at the track. The woman laughs in a way that seems familiar.

Where have I seen her before?

"Well, I suppose you've always been one to go out for one thing and bring back another." She says with a small laugh. Then, she turns to me. "I'm being rude, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Tifa, Kairi's mother. Pleased to meet you, Sora."

Well, that explains it. She's like a taller, older, and much better endowed Kairi. Apart from her hair being a drastically different color from Kairi's, there's really no mistaking the resemblance. Wait, how does she know my name?

"Um… how… exactly do you know who I am?" Another laugh from Kairi's mother.

"Oh, you've been the topic of our phone conversations for quite some time now. Kairi's quite fond of you." For lack of a better response, I nod.

Tifa leans back a little on her seat and raises an eyebrow.

"So, how long have you and Kairi been dating?"

…

…

What?

My response consists of silence as my brain suddenly lurches into gear. But just before I can begin to utter a hastily babbled explanation, Kairi's mother bursts into laughter again.

"Ha! You're a blusher, aren't you!" I don't know if there's any way to keep my dignity in this situation, so I settle for a mumbled response.

"Er… maybe…" I mutter under my breath. Unfortunately, it looks like she heard me.

"So this must be a new romance then, isn't it?"

"Wait, that's not the question that I was answeri-"

Another laugh.

"I know, but it's funny to watch you squirm." That sentence alone is very sadistic. "I'm sorry. Forgive an old woman her amusements."

Old woman? She sure doesn't look that old to me. I guess Kairi gets her youthful feature from her mother.

"I suppose I can let it go." I answer jokingly.

"How kind of you." She answers with a smile.

"It's starting." Yuffie points out, interrupting our banter. I direct my attention to the track, where they're preparing for the first sprint. It looks like the four hundred meter dash. My eyes scan the runners, before finding Kairi. She's smiling, with a borderline cocky look on her face.

The starter raises her pistol.

…

…

_**Bang**_

Kairi explodes off the block, disappearing from the starting line in a blur. It's amazing. Even as the other sprinters converge on the lanes closest to the inside line, Kairi surges to the front of the pack. By the time she rounds the final turn, some of the other runners have caught up with her. Their efforts come to naught though, since a final burst of speed from Kairi leaves them at least a half second behind. Tifa whoops and shouts, applauding wildly, and generally looking like any other parent cheering their child on. Kairi bounds off the track, looking pleased with herself. I cheer right along with the rest of them. The announcer, sounding suspiciously like Selphie, gleefully gives the results.

"I think she's gotten faster since the last time." Tifa notices, smiling to herself.

"That was pretty incredible." I say to myself.

We fall silent as the next event is being prepared. I notice Kairi striding out onto the track again.

"Wait, didn't she just run?" I ask her mother, but she just nods.

"Yes, but she runs multiple events for the team. Especially the sprints. It's a lot of running, but she can handle it." Both Kairi and her mother look confident in her skill. Kairi doesn't appear to be tired, as if she hadn't participated in the previous event at all. If not for the sweat visible on her shirt, you'd never know.

"Which event is this one?" I ask Yuffie.

"Two hundred meter dash." She answers, keeping her eyes glued to the track.

"She'll do this one, the one hundred meter, and then the relay." Tifa tells me.

Once again, the pistol sounds, and one again Kairi flies off the block. A thumping sound draws my attention away from the race.

It's Yuffie's foot.

She seems completely absorbed in the race.

…

Kairi's mother cheers again, and I assume that the race is over.

Sprints don't seem to take very long to complete.

"Sora." Yuffie calls me. I turn to her, but she doesn't do the same. "Watch Kairi closely."

"Well, yeah. Of course I'm watching Kairi." Yuffie just shakes her head in response.

"No. Look closely. Kairi's the most Kairi when she runs. You don't get to see Kairi at her Kairiest very often. But here, you can. See?" I don't really know what she means by 'Kairiest', but I take her advice and I focus on her face.

As Kairi get onto the starter blocks, her whole body seems to relax, but it's a false relaxation. She's actually more like a coiled spring, ready to burst forward. As the starter tells everyone to get set, her head snaps up, and her eyes narrow slightly. Her mouth curls upward in what could be a grin and a growl at the same time. The pistol goes off, and it's like she's been unleashed from a cage, as if she was always moving at this blinding speed, but we couldn't see it happening until the starter's pistol dispelled the illusion of motionlessness. There's almost no speed up time between start and sprint with Kairi, as she immediately takes off at top speed. It's all over in a few seconds, but in those few seconds I feel like I just witnessed something very personal for Kairi. As soon as she crossed the finish line, the fierce look was replaced by her normal grin.

"Wow… she's really amazing. I've never seen anyone move that fast." Tifa laughs out loud once again.

"Well, don't look at me. I'm far too relaxed to run that fast. No, I think Kairi's prowess all came from her father's side." At the mention of Kairi's father, Tifa looks wistful, almost sad. "He got her into running, you know."

"Yeah… she told me." I'm uncertain as to whether or not it would be rude of me to ask about Kairi's father. But after the look on her face a few days ago, I feel compelled to ask.

"Wh-Where… is her father now…, if I might ask?" I can tell I'm treading on thin ice. Tifa hesitates, clearly not willing to answer the question but at the same time not wishing to appear rude.

"He… isn't around anymore." Tifa confesses, still looking at Kairi on the field.

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. Kairi just seemed a little sad when she mentioned him earlier…"

"That's not surprising, considering they were very close."

"I see." A beeping noise suddenly emanates from Tifa's pocket. Reaching into it, she pulls out a cell phone and looks at it.

"Honestly, text messages? What is he, sixteen?" She asks herself with a slight laugh. She then turns to me. "I've got to go meet up with a friend of mine. Will you tell Kairi I'm very proud of her and that I'll call her later tonight?"

"Yeah, no problem."

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

A few races pass by, but since Kairi wasn't in any of them, I kinda zoned out. When I come back to my senses, the relay is just about to start.

"Did you see it?" Yuffie asks me completely out of the blue. "You know, Kairi at her Kairiest."

"Maybe." Yuffie simply shrugs.

"Hmm. Maybe this time."

The relay begins, and I cheer Kairi's teammates along as they pass the baton. Finally, I see Kairi springing onto the track to take the final handoff. Once again I'm taken aback by how graceful she looks when she runs.

She really is beautiful.

The look of determination and fearlessness on her face only adds to the picture.

Kairi at her Kairiest, I suppose.

But then, as she crosses the finish line, I see her stumble slightly. It's only barely, but it's a definite stumble. Yuffie inhales sharply, and actually looks concerned for a second.

"Aw, Kairi…" She mutters, looking away from the track.

"Do you think she hurt herself?" She turns to me.

"You noticed it too? It must be bad." She frowns, as if deciding on the next course of action. Eventually that proves to be too tiresome, and she shrugs. "Well, let's go down. Gotta crown the victor. See if you can find a laurel branch."

"Um… that's not going to be easy." Yuffie shrugs again.

"At least we tried."

Well, we didn't really try all that hard.

Or at all. But hey, whatever.

**XxCOMPLICATEDxX**

When we get down to the field, Kairi is surrounded by her teammates, all of them congratulating her on the run. Yuffie seems to be waiting for Kairi to notice that she's arrived. Well, I guess she can't exactly wave Kairi over. Then again, I'm not sure that Yuffie would do such a thing even if she had arms. It doesn't seem her style to draw attention to herself. Or to emote at all beyond a nonchalant shrug. Either way, I'm not willing to wait, so I wave to Kairi, who looks up and grins happily at me – er, us.

"Hey! You showed up! Guess Yuffie owes me money, huh?" Kairi exclaims with a big smile on her face.

"We would have brought you a crown of laurels, but Sora didn't find one." Yuffie tells her, and I can't help but interject.

"Hey, neither did you."

"Well, it wasn't my job to look."

"When did we assign jobs?"

"When I said 'See if you can find a laurel branch.' Try to keep up, will you?"

I sigh, there's no winning when it comes to Yuffie.

"Seems it's my fault after all, Kairi." Kairi laughs at the two of us.

"It's okay, I'm sure you'll make it up to me somehow." I don't like the sound of that, but nevertheless, I nod. "Good! So, how'd I look?" I stop myself from blurting out 'beautiful' or 'amazing' and settle for the substantially safer 'very impressive'. Kairi seems pleased with this assessment. I don't mention how much more impressive her performance is given her lack of legs. I figure she knows that already. Besides, it seems like it would take away from her efforts, somehow.

"Great to hear! I was worried that I looked a little slow on the relay, but I guess I did fine, huh?"

"Well, actually… I noticed-" Yuffie kicks me subtly, keeping me from finishing my sentence, but Kairi sees it.

"What was that all about?"

"He noticed it. At the end." Yuffie tells her.

"Hmm, that's no good. Guess the nurse will look at it for me later." There's carelessness in her voice, as if it isn't a big deal, but I suddenly notice her twitch slightly. Like she's trying to hide the fact that she's in pain. Its then that I notice her breathing is a little shallow, too.

I guess she really is hurt.

She must notice my concern, because she skips up to me and gives me a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, you look a little worried! I'm fine, really! Just a bit sore from all the running. I mean, a little pain isn't going to stop me."

"Oh no?" It seems that pain is the only thing that stops people. Kairi grins, and for a moment, she looks like she did during her sprint, fierce and unconquerable.

Or to put it another way, really beautiful.

"Never has, never will!" To make her point, she gives me a thumbs up.

"Well then, I guess I shouldn't worry, huh?"

"Damn straight! I'm Kairi Uchida! Fastest thing on no legs! I don't stop for anything!"

"Impressive." I… don't really know how to respond to that.

She giggles, then seems to remember something.

"Oh, before I forget…" She turns to Yuffie, then turns back to me. "Yuffie and I are going to do something next Sunday as a post-track meet celebration! You should come too! Normally we do it the day after, but since the track meet was on a Sunday, I've got homework and class and all that stuff to take care of. Plus our morning run, of course."

"Yeah…" Wasn't there something I was supposed to remember as well?

_She then turns to me. "I've got to go meet up with a friend of mine. Will you tell Kairi I'm very proud of her and that I'll call her later tonight?" _

"_Yeah, no problem." _

Oh yeah.

I relay Tifa's message back to Kairi, and once I finish, her face lights up like it's Christmas morning.

"I thought I saw her in the stands! I'm glad she made it. Used to be my dad who showed up to my meets, but Mom's done a pretty good job of taking over, I guess." She shivers slightly, and I realize that she's still pretty sweaty. A breeze has started to blow, too. I'm not cold at all, and I've got my jacket with me, so without even thinking I throw it around her shoulders. Kairi jumps slightly, then grins at me.

"H-Hey…" She murmurs, donning a slight blush, before turning back with a big grin. "Thanks! It's getting a little cold, I guess."

"Yeah… you looked like it." Just as I begin to wonder whether or not giving Kairi my jacket could be taken the wrong way, a boy with long silver hair approaches.

"Hey, Kairi! You're going to miss the medal ceremony!"

"Oh yeah, thanks Riku!" She turns to Yuffie and myself. "You don't have to stick around for this part. It takes forever. Besides, you should get cracking on your homework now if you don't want to be up late, Sora." As she begins running towards the crowd, she turns back around. "Morning run tomorrow! Don't forget, Sora!"

"How could I?" She giggles.

"Good point. I mean, it's spending time with **me**, after all!" With that, she waves quickly and dashes off to receive her medals, or whatever they pass off as medals these days. Yuffie and I head away from the track, Yuffie remaining in whatever thoughts she had for most of the walk back to her dorm.

As I see her off, she speaks up.

"You're probably not getting that coat back."

"I'm sure I'll get it back eventually."

"Interesting. Take it as it comes, huh?" She shows a small smile. "Very Kairi-ish." With this odd statement, she turns and heads into the building.

Honestly, was it that big a deal?

Kairi was cold and, unless I'm mistaken, in pain.

Giving her a solution to at least one of those problems seems like an obvious reaction.

Though I guess there's a chance I could lose my jacket if Kairi never remembers to return it.

I guess Yuffie has a point after all.

Still, I can't bring myself to muster much worry over the whole thing.

After all, it's been getting warmer lately.

I don't need a jacket.

…

Odd. I think I used to be a little more responsible with my stuff.

"Kairi-ish," huh?

Maybe that's not really a bad thing.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**


	9. Warning

"You haven't been forgetting to take your medicine, have you? I'm catching a little murmur. You should take it easy for a few days." The nurse's words hurt me far more than the exhaustion of the morning run ever could.

Take it easy for a few days?

I knew I should've just kept quiet. I keep my eyes on the floor, feeling like a complete idiot. Of course I hadn't been remembering to take my medicine. I've been rushing out of my room to get to the track before Kairi. After the track meet a few days ago, I felt… inspired. So I've been running warm up laps in the morning before Kairi shows up. But today, while we were running, I felt a little pain in my chest. It was only slight, and it was only for a second, so I mentioned it to the nurse.

"Honestly, it wasn't that bad." I reason, "I mean, I kept running and finished just fine, so really it couldn't have been that bad…" Why do I feel like I'm making excuses? Moreover, why do I feel a need to justify continuing to run despite the pain? Really, it comes down to my being unwilling to concern Kairi, who seemed concerned anyway. I'm not sure how she was able to tell there was anything wrong, but she claims I stumbled a little. She's the one who insisted I tell the nurse, so now I feel bad for worrying her at all. Aerith shakes her head ruefully while Kairi paces outside the room.

"Sora, I know it's difficult for you to get into a new routine, but if you don't want to find yourself in a lot of trouble you're going to have to try harder. You can't afford to forget your pill, and you can't push yourself too hard."

"But if I don't push myself, how will I improve?!" I burst out, although I don't really know where that came from. Aerith seems to have an idea, though.

"Now, where have I heard that before?" She laughs and pats me on the shoulder, "Ha! She's rubbing off on you, I guess." Her expression changes again, and she's back in serious mode. "Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't push yourself. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be taking your medication, and it doesn't mean you shouldn't stop if your chest starts to bother you. I'd prefer not to have any fatalities while I'm on staff here. A bit of a lofty goal, with people like you under my care, but I'm always up for a challenge."

I hate to admit it, but she's right. I've got to remember to take my meds.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry about worrying you." I apologize. Aerith laughs again.

"Who's worried? You're a smart kid, right? I know you can be responsible, Sora. A situation like yours, you've got to learn to be responsible quickly."

"Yeah… I get it." Her expression suddenly becomes devious.

"I suppose you've started to enjoy your runs with Kairi then, hm?"

"Uh… yeah, they've really been helping me. I mean, until today I was feeling a lot more healthy. Plus, it's really impressive to see Kairi run. Did you see her at the track meet? She was incredible!" I can't believe I'm gushing like this, but it's all true. I don't know what I'd do without these morning runs. The nurse simply nods, grinning all the while.

"That she was, Sora. I watched her first couple of races before I had some business to take care of, but she told me all about it." Her grin grows wider, "Kind of you to loan her your jacket, by the way."

"Huh? Oh yeah, It wasn't that big of a deal." I had honestly forgotten all about that. I still haven't gotten it back. The nurse gives me a smile that makes me feel like he's just made a joke.

"Well, maybe not to you, but Kairi certainly appreciated it. And I know she appreciates your running with her in the mornings." This one catches me off guard a little. Sure, she mentioned that it's easier to keep to a schedule with an extra person, but I didn't think that I was doing her a favor at all.

"I thought she was doing me the favor of helping me follow the doctor's orders." I mean, that's what she told me.

"Well, that may be true, but she tries harder when you're around. If there's someone else running with her, she's going to push herself more. And she tries even harder when you're around because, well, it's you."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh ho, you'd love to know, wouldn't you?" she laughs in the style of an evil megalomaniac, "No, seriously, it's because you're her friend. If Yuffie ran with her, I'm sure she'd do the same. I mean, not that Yuffie would ever do something like that." she laughs to herself, "But that's not the point. The point is; you're helping her, even if you don't know you are. And she's grateful for that, even if she never says it."

"What do you mean, 'even if she never says it'?"

"Kairi doesn't talk a lot, but she and I have known each other long enough that I can read her most of the time." I'll admit, I have no idea what Aerith is talking about. I mean, Kairi's pretty talkative. Well, at this point, Aerith realizes that she's been rambling and stops talking, looking a little embarrassed. "Anyway, you don't have to stop your morning exercise. Just walk the track instead of running for a few days. Let things calm down. **And take your damn medicine!**"

I laugh as I exit the office, bumping straight into Kairi.

"Whoops, haha, sorry about that."

"A-Are you okay? What did the nurse say? Do you need to go to a hospital? Omigosh, it was my fault, wasn't it? I've been pushing you too hard, haven't I? I'm a horrible person!"

Her words pour forth like a torrent. She's really agitated. I didn't expect her to be this concerned about me, to be honest. I gotta calm her down, but how the hell do I do that?

I do the only thing I can think of.

I give her a hug. Kairi tenses up slightly, so I pat her head in what I hope is a reassuring manner.

"Hey… settle down. I'm fine, okay? No worries." I can feel Kairi's body relax as I continue to assure her I'm fine. Her arms wrap around me, as if she's trying to confirm that I'm not about to fall over dead. I catch a whiff of her hair. It smells like sweat, or how adrenaline should smell. The scent of activity.

And a hint of strawberries. From her shampoo, I suspect.

"I've just gotta remember to take my medicine, that's all. Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." I reassure her, stroking her hair.

"You sure?" Her voice is muffled, mostly because her face is pressed into my chest.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I just need to take it a little easy for the next few days."

It suddenly occurs to me how close the two of us are right now. It also occurs to me how nice being this close feels. I can feel Kairi's heartbeat calming down, and I have to resist the urge to rest my chin on the top of her head.

"Thank goodness. You really had me worried there, Sora."

Aerith pokes her head out of the infirmary door.

"Kairi, you going to come in here any time soon?"

…

"… Oh, I'm sorry. Was I interrupting?" The two of us spring apart as if the other just caught on fire. Kairi brushes her hair back nervously and laughs.

"C-Course not!" she turns to me, "I'll uh… see you later, okay?" she starts walking into the nurse's room, but doubles back to me, "Oh, and Sora?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"**Take your damn medicine!**" Her last phrase is punctuated by a punch to the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. See ya." Aerith smiles again like she's in on some joke I don't know about and waves to me as I head for my room, feeling a burning sensation in my cheeks.

I need a shower.

A cold one, if the thoughts running through my head are any indication.

…

She was really soft.

…

…

Sigh….

My pills are waiting for me when I make it to my room, and I swallow them without a second thought. I don't know why I didn't think of waiting until after the runs to take them. For some reason I figured it was when I woke up or not at all. But no, they only need to be taken every twenty-four hours. The exact time of day doesn't factor into it. My thoughts drift back to the hug in the hallway.

It's weird, you'd expect someone to smell foul after a run, but for some reason, Kairi smelled… right. That tinge of sweat just seemed to fit her.

…

I really need that shower.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

Strange that it feels so natural for me to go up to the roof these days. I never would have done such a thing at my old school. In those days I liked to eat alone… now, that's actually not quite true. Although I like to sit alone, I also liked to watch people. I always figured that was the sort of person I was, but it appears I was wrong. Then again, I also thought I was the sort of person who had a normal heart, so there you have it.

I guess I don't know that much about myself.

Now I'm on the roof so that I can have lunch with a couple of people-no, friends. And they're both girls, which is even stranger. Oddly enough, I feel closer to Kairi and Yuffie than I felt to anyone at my old school. Somehow I get the feeling they'd at least visit me if I wound up in the hospital, and this thought does comfort me a little.

I focus on the view from the roof, banishing such thoughts from my head. There's a light breeze blowing, and the sun is shining high in the sky. It's a deep blue, with hardly a cloud in it. It's gotten pleasantly warm, and as I sit down to wait for the girls, I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of the sun seeping into my skin.

…

…

This feels really good.

"He seems to have fallen asleep on us, Yuffie."

"Maybe he's faking, to lull us into a false sense of security."

"Why would he do that?"

"No idea."

"Still, you make a good point. We should kick him or something to make sure he's really asleep."

I lift my head up from the bench, gazing at the two girls. Kairi looms over me like only a short girl can, peering at me intently.

"Oh, you're awake. I guess we don't have to kick you then." Kairi says with a cheeky grin.

"Was it part of your master plan?" Yuffie asks, with a bored look on her face.

"What are you talking about?" I ask them both. Kairi simply shrugs, her hair bouncing with the motion.

"I'm not sure either. You must be pretty tired to fall asleep out here. Although it's pretty comfortable, I suppose." She plops down next to me and begins to eat. Yuffie sits opposite from the two of us, which only makes me more aware of the girl sitting next to me. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Yuffie did it on purpose.

I concentrate on my food, trying to tune out the majority of what Yuffie and Kairi are saying. Despite my best efforts, however, I still find myself glancing over at Kairi whenever she speaks. I notice how she purses her lips when she's thinking about something, squinting slightly as if that would improve her thinking ability. Yuffie says something that makes Kairi laugh, and I notice, perhaps for the first time, how she laughs with her whole body, rocking back and forth, head thrown back, almost like she's about to fall over.

God, I probably look like a complete creep.

It's about this time that I realize Kairi's looking back at me. Her voice is raise slightly, so she's probably just asked me a question.

"Uh… sorry. I kinda zoned out for a moment there." Kairi rolls her eyes, while a slight quirk of the eyebrow is the only sign that Yuffie is even paying attention.

"I said, did you get a career survey in your class too?" Kairi repeats, "You know, one of those 'What do you want to do after high school?' things?"

"I… don't think so. Maybe I'll get one tomorrow." I answer. I haven't been sleeping in class lately, so I really doubt I've missed it.

"What are you going to put down?" That's a really good question. I guess I always figured I'd go to college after high school, but after that, I'm not really sure. And with the heart attack and all, I'd really been concentrating on each day as it comes, rather than making long-term plans. I suppose I can safely start planning ahead, again. I've always liked having at least a vague plan for my future, so it'll be nice to come up with one again. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that right now I've got absolutely…

"… no clue." Kairi giggles as Yuffie remains stoically staring at the two of us, "I mean, I always kind of assumed I'd figure it out in college. That, or just become an accountant or something. That's pretty popular." But do I really want to do something like that? That's a tough question. I guess I don't really want to do anything.

"You don't sound very excited about that one, do you?" Kairi observes. She laughs as she says this, and I'm caught up in her laugh again. It's so… girlish. High and giggly, like a… well, pardon the cliché – like a babbling brook. It bubbles out of her, starting in her belly and working its way up her throat. I can't help but laugh myself, it's infectious.

"Yeah… I guess I'm not. But to be honest, I haven't given it much thought. I suppose that, these days, I've been more concerned about living one day at a time." Kairi considers this for a moment then grins.

"That's a pretty good idea, Sora! I just wrote down, 'Pirate'."

…

…

I'm momentarily stunned, then I start laughing.

I stop myself and manage to gasp out a question.

"You're… you're not actually… serious, are you?" Kairi looks mock offended.

"Well, I've got the legs for it already… so I just kinda figured…" Even Yuffie seems amused by this, "Just you wait, I'll be the terror of the high seas! I'll show you all! I've even been practicing my pirate voice!" She suddenly springs up and begins swaggering up and down the rooftop shouting orders, "Yarr, me hearties, give'em a broadside with the long guns! We'll wear their guts for garters!"

"Do you even know what that means?" Yuffie's unexpected interruption stops Kairi in her tracks.

"…Not really. But it's all in the delivery!" The ringing of the bell prevents her from demonstrating her point further. Kairi dashes off immediately, leaving Yuffie and I alone on the roof. Yuffie stares at me for a few moments.

"Is… there something on my face?" Yuffie considers this question closely for a moment.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Nope." Yuffie shakes her head.

"Oh, um… why the staring, then?" Yuffie shakes her head again.

"Nope, I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"The staring thing. You two seem to, but I don't." Great. She saw me staring. Now she probably thinks I'm a pervert or something. Actually, probably not. This is Yuffie we're talking about, after all. Still, I feel the need to defend myself.

"I wasn't staring, I was just tired." Yuffie actually snorts at this, but she doesn't say anything. "No, really! I was just… distracted, is all."

"Yep. I bet you were." She responds with a coy smile. Eager to end this conversation, I head back down to class.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

I'm greeted by the specter of Selphie, looking like she's about to start laughing at any minute.

"Up on the roof again, Sora? You know that's dangerous, don't you? As the class representative, it's my job to stop you from breaking the school policy!" Despite reprimanding me, she keeps a huge grin, like she's not taking this seriously, which she probably isn't. "I could report you for breaking the rules!" She leans over to my ear. "But I won't, Sora! You two are two cute together~!" She straightens up again, laughing at my sudden blush. "Hahahaha~! You're too easy to tease, Sora~!"

"Ugh, don't you have anyone else to annoy?"

"Nope!" She laughs again, "Ah! That aside, I was looking for you this morning, but you weren't in your room. I had to deliver something to you, but since you weren't around, I just dropped it off in your room."

"Something? Like what?" I don't remember asking my parents for anything…

"Haha, you'll find out when you get back, Sora. See ya~!" Zexion entering the room ends our conversation, and we all head to our seats. It's only after I've settled down at my desk and the teacher's started talking about something or other that something odd strikes me.

What did Yuffie mean by, "You two seem to?"

Was Kairi staring at something too?"

For a brief moment, I consider the possibility that Kairi was staring at me the way I was staring at her. Of course, that's ridiculous. Still, I can't deny that I wouldn't mind if it were true… But it's best not to think of that. No need to get my hopes up. Come to think of it, when did I start having hopes like that anyway?

I shake my head in an attempt to clear it, and focus on the lesson.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

After class, I make my way to my room. Zexion really piled on the homework this time. Before I can open the door, however, I am suddenly intercepted by Roxas, who explodes out of his own room in a flurry of papers.

"Hey, we need to talk. Those rooftop shenanigans of yours, man. They've gotta stop." He commands, staring at me.

"What?"

"You running around on the rooftop with the limbless wonders! They're women, man! You'll get yourself killed, running around like that!"

"I don't follow." Roxas sighs and adjusts his glasses, before what could be understood as an attempt at explaining himself clearly and patiently.

"Look, we're friends so I'm telling you this for your own good. If I were going to kill someone, I'd do it by throwing them off the roof and making it look like an accident. And if I've thought of it, you can be sure they've thought of it too. They're crafty… almost as crafty as I am."

"Uh… yeah. I understand."

"Good!" He gives me a thumbs up, "I'm glad we had this chat. Now give me five hundred munny."

…

"I'm sorry?"

"C'mon man! I need a drink! I've been inside all day and the tap water's been compromised, as I'm sure you know. So I need to stock up on something bottled or canned, got it? But to do that, I need some money. And since I've just saved your life with my timely advice, you can at least spare me five hundred munny."

…

My first instinct is to deny his request, but now that I think about it…

If it'll make him go away, five hundred munny is a bargain.

I hand the money over to Roxas, who nods in thanks and dashes off down the hallway, but not before locking his own door.

…

What a strange guy. I'd better go, in case he changes his mind.

…

What the?

As I close the door, my heel taps against something lying on the ground. It's a brightly colored rectangle of paper. This is probably the "something" that Selphie mentioned earlier today.

Probably a student council leaflet she slid under my door. How anticlimactic.

However, when I pick it up, I find that I couldn't have been more wrong.

Someone actually wrote me an old-fashioned, hand-written paper letter. With the reign of computers in the information age, I didn't think that I'd ever get something like this. Yet, as unlikely as the prospect of receiving one sounds, this is definitely a letter I have in my hands. I was planning on finishing my homework, getting some dinner, and going to bed in order to be ready for tomorrow morning's run. However, this letter has naturally caught my interest. I sit at my desk to examine it properly. It's the first piece of mail I've received here at Twilight Academy, so it'd feel special even if it wasn't something as rare as a handwritten letter. I flip the envelope over to its front, to see who sent me this letter.

…

…

No…

…

No way…

On the front of the envelope, in small, neat letters.

_Shiki Misaki_

**Horray for cliffhangers. This is only the beginning. Mwahahah. This chapter was originally going to include the letter in its entirety, but I think I'll make you guys suffer. Teeheehee. Here are some lines for the next chapter.**

**Yeah, I think I've had quite enough of this.**

"**Picnic!"**

"**Maybe. I'm unwilling to say for certain one way or the other. Memory's a tricky thing, you know."**

**I'm surprised to find out that our waitress is none other than Olette.**

"**So who's this other guy, huh? You got a secret lover or something?"**

**So, next chapter will be out in about two days, since I've already written half of it, so I guess you won't have to wait very long for the contents of Shiki's letter.**


	10. Pirate Days

Shiki Misaki

…

Shiki.

Misaki.

Her name alone brings back painful memories of recovery and isolation. I have no idea why she would write to me. I haven't been in contact with anyone from my old school since I transferred, and Shiki's the last person I'd expect to want to write me a letter. The last time I saw Shiki, it was terribly awkward; embarrassingly so. She came to my hospital room, peeled me an apple out of courtesy and then we practically sat in silence for half an hour. She said "goodbye" and didn't look me in the eye when she closed the door. It might've been a natural end to the series of visits that were probably pretty painful for both of us. Every time she visited me, I wanted to talk to her, but something stopped me. Every time I didn't speak, it made it harder for me the next time. She looked so guilty that I didn't want to say anything that might upset her, and I never could figure out the right words to say.

I think Shiki blamed herself for my heart attack. That's ridiculous, of course, but knowing it and believing it are two very different things. I told her that it wasn't her fault, she nodded and I really think she understood that if it hadn't been that, then sooner or later something else would've made my heart give out. Yet she looked so hopelessly sad every time she opened that door and entered my room. So I never managed to say the things I wanted to say. In the end, that might've hurt her even more.

Carefully, I open the envelope and draw out the folded letter from within.

_Dear Sora, _

_How are you? I hope you are well and happy at your new school. Everyone here misses you. Almost all of the juniors got put together in the same class for this year, so we're pretty comfortable right from the beginning of the year. I'm sure you would've been assigned to this class as well._

_The mood among the class seems to be very anxious about the final exams, even though they are so far away. The teachers are badgering us about it all the time, even old Xigbar, who is, by the way, our homeroom teacher this year. Would you believe it? I was sure that he'd retire after last year, but here he is, nagging everyone about studying for exams._

_I think things like that are the main reason why the mood among the third-years is so nervous. I might admit that I'm somehow losing confidence in myself as well, even though I've always fared reasonably well in exams._

_It's so weird to think that we're already seniors, isn't it? Time has really flown past. I wonder where it went. The new freshmen seem so young and somehow really innocent. I keep wondering if I was like them in my first yare. I've been feeling nostalgic like this for the whole first semester. _

_There are other things I want to say. I'm writing to you because I felt that there are things I should've said after the incident back in winter. I really regret that I wasn't able to say them in person, and I have no excuse fo-_

Yeah, I think I've had quite enough of this.

I crumple up the sheet of paper and toss it across the room. My aim is off, so the letter rolls under my nightstand instead of going into my wastebasket. It was an apology for abandoning me. Except I don't really need one at this point. The hospital seems like a lifetime ago, and here, now, I've got more important things on my mind.

Kairi, for starters.

It wasn't great to be abandoned during my stay, but it's not something I'm worried about any more. In fact, I hadn't even thought about the hospital in what feels like forever until this letter came in. It's almost annoying to have received it. I've got exams to study for, myself. I have no time for the past.

Now, about that homework…

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

I'm waiting in the hallway of the girls' dormitory just outside of Kairi and Yuffie's rooms. Apparently, Kairi is helping Yuffie get dressed. I suppose that makes perfect sense, as I've got no idea how Yuffie would get dressed otherwise. The two of them emerge from Yuffie's room, Kairi with a big grin and Yuffie with her normal stoic expression.

"Picnic!" Kairi exclaims, as if I'm supposed to know what she means.

"Picnic?"

"Yeah, that's what I said!" I guess we're having a picnic.

"Sounds pretty exciting."

"Haha, I know right?" Yuffie chooses this moment to make an observation.

"The sky seems threatening today." Actually, I noticed that too, on my way over. Despite the sunshine of the early morning, the afternoon seems to have taken a turn for the gloomy. There's a heaviness to the air as well that usually heralds a rainstorm. I wonder if I should've brought my umbrella…

"You know, she's got a point." I tell Kairi, "Kairi, you sure that you still want to risk getting caught in the rain?" Kairi gives me a look, shocked that I'd even suggest cancelling our plans.

"Of course! What, the threat of rain's supposed to stop me?" I can't help but grin at her belligerent response. It's almost like she's challenging the rain to come. If Mother Nature were walking down the street, I'm sure Kairi would probably start a fight with her.

Or at least challenge her to a race.

In fact, Kairi seems almost aggressively cheerful today.

"Well, are we ready to head out then?" I ask the two of them.

"I'm ready!" Kairi answers cheerfully. Yuffie nods and says a single word.

"Basket."

…

"Huh?" Both Kairi and I have the exact response to Yuffie's random outburst.

"The basket. In Kairi's room. Sora should carry it." Kairi claps a hand to her mouth, embarrassed.

"Oh, crap! I almost forgot! Nice catch, Yuffie!" Kairi darts into her room and emerges with a very well-stocked picnic basket. As she hands it over to me, my arms aren't prepared for the load she drops on me. I almost drop the basket and all of its contents onto the floor. Of course, if I had done so, Kairi probably would've murdered me.

I mean, seriously! How much food did she pack?

…

And more to the point, where'd she get the money for all of this?

"So, are we ready to head out?" I ask them.

"Yep!" Kairi responds cheerfully, while Yuffie just gives me another nod, and we head out of the dorm.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

I can't help but frown when I notice how gray the sky's gotten in the ten minutes I was inside. Still, Kairi doesn't seem concerned by such petty concerns as the color of the sky. She's practically skipping as we walk. Which reminds me…

"Where are we going?" This question brings Kairi up short as she shoots me an embarrassed look.

"You know… I hadn't really thought of that. What do you think, Sora?" Well, there's that spot where we ate during the festival, but it might be nice to leave the campus once in a while. However, I'm not sure if there's any good places to do that in town. Just as I'm about to open my mouth, Yuffie unexpectedly interjects with a suggestion.

"There's a park in town near the art shop."

"Great idea, Yuffie! I totally forgot about that place!" Kairi congratulates, spinning happily as she moves.

Well, I guess that's crisis averted, although I don't exactly know where this park is. I ask Yuffie if she knows, but she just shrugs.

"It's pretty likely."

"Well, that's good enough for me!" Unlike Kairi, who's carefree attitude doesn't stop me from noticing the storm clouds, I'd prefer knowing for sure… but, what the hell.

"Well, lead on, Yuffie."

The three of us quickly make our way off campus and take the road down into town.

…

…

This basket's a bit heavy. I hope that the park is close by.

…

After what seems like an eternity, we pass the art supply store. Yuffie slows her pace slightly as we go by. Kairi notices this and stops moving entirely.

"You wanna go in, Yuffie?" She asks, but Yuffie simply shrugs.

"Nothing I need."

"Are you suuure?" There's the slightest flutter of a smile on Yuffie's face, quickly replaced with her usual stoic expression.

"Life's uncertain, but on this I'm pretty sure. Nice of you to offer, though."

"Well, it's not like I'm the one carrying the basket." She giggles, "But I'll bet Sora wouldn't have minded anyway, right?" They both turn to be with an expectant look.

"Uh… yeah, whatever. No problem." Truth be told, my arms feel like they're about to fall off. Kairi stifles a snort of laughter by pointing to the park at which we've arrived.

"Oh! I remember this place!" She turns back to Yuffie, "I ran into you here that one time, didn't I, Yuffie?" Yuffie raises her eyebrows slightly.

"Maybe. I'm unwilling to say for certain one way or the other. Memory's a tricky thing, you know." Well, who would've thought. Looks like we've made it in one piece. The sun's still nowhere to be seen, but neither Kairi nor Yuffie seem to mind. We find a stop to sit on the grass and I set the basket down gracefully. Kairi crawls over to where I'm sitting and starts unpacking all the food.

…

…

…

…

Uh… wow.

That's a lot of food.

Were we supposed to be joined by some of Kairi's teammates or something?

"I'm starving! Let's dig in!" Saying this, Kairi swiftly attacks the food as if she's had nothing to eat for years. I'm just reaching for the food myself when I feel the first drop of rain land on the back of my hand.

"Uh oh…" I mutter, "Looks like the weather isn't going to cooperate after all." Kairi glares at the sky as if that alone will hold back the rain. She's got one hell of a glare.

"It had better cooperate." She suddenly stands up and starts shaking her fist at the sky. "You hear me, sky? You stop that raining right this instant!"

Haha…

…

Oh, you probably didn't get the joke.

It wasn't really a joke, since she didn't mean for it to be one…

It's just funny to me…

You know…

Sora…

Sora's my name…

It means sky…

…

Anyway…

The sky doesn't seem inclined to listen to her, despite the commanding tone she's taken with it. Instead, the rain seems to increase. Yuffie wrinkles her nose in distaste at this unfortunate turn of events.

"Regrettable."

"What do you mean?" I ask her, but she just shrugs in response.

"I could paint this if I weren't out here. Shame to miss it, is all." She doesn't seem angry or annoyed about it, just a little disappointed.

"Haha, guess we should've stopped by the art store after all, huh?" Kairi responds with a laugh, but the rain increases a little more, as if it were offended that we haven't fled yet. Despite the warm temperatures we've been enjoying, the rain is rather cold. I really regret not bringing my umbrella.

"Guys, we should probably head inside to keep dry."

"We're already pretty wet, Sora."

"Yeah, but we can dry off this way and maybe wait out the storm." I can't believe I have to spell it out for her. "You don't want to catch a storm, do you?" Kairi considers this for a moment. I can tell that part of her wants to stay out in the rain just to spite the weather. Unfortunately for her, the weather hardly cares about what we do.

"Well… I suppose you're right." Kairi concedes, "Where should we go?" I don't really have an answer for her. The area's still pretty new to me. Though I guess I'm slowly getting used to the school itself, the surrounding town remains a mystery. All I know is the art supply store, and that's only because we've just passed it. Fortunately, Kairi snaps her fingers in triumph. "Wait! There's a tea shop nearby! We could have some tea and cake and dry out, no problem!" That actually doesn't sound half bad.

"Great! You know where it is?" I ask her, to which she nods, looking fairly confident.

"I sure do!" She pauses for a few seconds, "I think…" she pauses again, "Well, it'll be an adventure either way, right?" It honestly doesn't matter, as long as I get out of this rain, I'll be happy.

"Well, lead on." Yuffie and I follow Kairi as she weaves through the streets with confidence.

"Now… if we take a left here… aha! There! The Paopu Place!" Kairi beams triumphantly as she points to the tea shop. It seems fairly crowded inside; a symptom of the sudden rain, I'm sure.

We enter the building, and a waitress comes out to greet us.

"Welcome! Can I-" She glances at Kairi, "Oh, it's you." Wait… isn't she…

"Hey, Olette!" Kairi grins brightly, pleased to be remembered. That's who it is! That's Olette! The librarian!

"Hi, Olette." I greet, "I didn't know you worked two jobs." She gives me a perplexed look.

"Do I know you? You seem awfully familiar, but I don't think I've ever seen you in here."

"Er, we met at your other job. At the library with Namin, remember?" Her eyes suddenly widen with memory.

"Yeah, that's it! Nice to see you again…" She greets with a warm smile, but for some reason, it morphs into a scared expression, "Oh no, this is bad! I should have remembered a customer's face! I'm sorry… I'm terribly sorry!" Olette goes from realization to panic in a split second, performing a series of frantic apologetic hand movements, which aren't very apologetic, since she nearly backhands me across the face.

"Whoa! Hey! Calm down, Olette!" At this rate, she'll probably succeed in braining my skull. "Listen, I wasn't a customer when we first met, I was a student, so it's all right!" Not the most logical solution, but it seems to calm her down.

"Y-You really think so?" She asks hesitantly.

"Uh, yeah, I'm sure. Positive. Absolutely. Isn't that right, girls?"

"Yep!" Kairi covers for me, "it sure is!"

"Well… okay…" Olette concedes, but it seems like she's still a bit concerned. It's not really that big of a deal though.

"So, Olette, you got room for us?" She nods and leads us to a corner booth, providing us with some small towels before taking our orders.

"What will you guys have?" She asks us professionally.

"Cake!" Kairi cries, "And some tea too, I guess." I think Kairi would be content with only the cake.

"Well, what kind of cake?"

"Uh… surprise me!" Olette looks uncomfortable at the thought of surprising anyone, but she gives her a nod and turns to Yuffie.

"And for you?"

"I'll take a straw. My feet are wet."

"A-A straw?"

"The drinking kind of straw. One, please." I can't help but feel bad for poor Olette. She's obviously confused of what to do about this. She fiddles with her pen and notebook for a moment, looking like she's about to cry, before turning in my direction.

"And you, sir?" I quickly glance through the menu.

"Just tea, I guess." Kairi would probably yell at me if I ordered cake. She yells at me anyway.

"Aw, come on Sora! Don't let me be the only one with food, I'll feel like a pig!"

"Just trying to eat healthy. Your orders, after all." She's obviously annoyed that her rules are being used against her.

"Well… well… today is your day off! You can be healthy tomorrow!" I don't get her logic, but whatever. I turn back to Olette.

"Well, I guess I'm having cake after all." Olette seems a bit irritated that I'm changing my mind.

"What kind?" She asks, but I simply glance at Kairi and grin.

"Surprise me."

Olette sighs and nods her head.

"Very well… your order will be out soon." With that, she walks through a door in the back of the building, getting our order ready.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

Despite the crowd, our order does indeed arrive quickly.

"Thanks Olette!" Kairi thanks her, and she nods in appreciation. Olette looks at me for a bit, before turning back to Kairi.

"This is a different guy than usual, isn't it?" What? Different guy?

Kairi notices my confusion, because she seems a little embarrassed.

"W-What? Oh, yeah, I guess he is. This is my friend, Sora."

"Yeah, I remember. We've already met." Olette giggles lightly, "Small world isn't it?" With that, Olette takes off like a shot to wait on some other tables, leaving me to ponder her comment.

Different guy, huh? I guess it makes sense, right? Kairi's pretty popular, or so I've been told.

It was probably that guy from yesterday's meet, Riku or whatever.

…

This is stupid. I can just ask Kairi.

"So, who's this other guy, huh? You got a secret lover or something?" Kairi laughs again, only I get the feeling it's from nervousness as much as anything else.

"It's just the track team captain, Riku. He likes coming down here after practice sometimes. So if we have anything to discuss, I just tag along." Sounds pretty suspicious to me…

Well, I could just let the matter drop, but I can't resist getting another dig in.

"So it **is** a secret lover! I knew it!" Yuffie watches our play, seeming mildly amused before muttering something that I don't quite catch.

"-y' anyway." I hear Yuffie mutter.

"What?" Both Kairi and I ask, it seems like neither of us heard her. Yuffie jerks back from wherever her mind wandered off to.

"Huh?" She asks us, looking as confused as we probably are.

"What did you say?" I ask her.

"Huh."

"No, before that."

"No idea."

"Oh. Okay." I let the matter drop, but I can't help but notice that Kairi seems relieved that Yuffie interrupted the conversation. Maybe I went a little too far…

Conversation dies down for a moment as Kairi and I busy ourselves with cake. Mine is strawberry, and surprisingly good. Kairi seems to think so too, as she suddenly reaches over with her fork and steals a piece.

"Thief!" I yell at her, but she simply grins and pops her fork into her mouth.

"Pirate. There's a difference."

"We're not on water!"

"Well, no. But there's a lot of water outside, so it still works, right?"

"No. No, it doesn't."

"Oh, well you can have some of mine, then. I think it's cranberry or something. Really, I should've asked for the strawberry. I like strawberries."

"Well, feel free to help yourself to mine, if you really must. Seeing as how you've already done it once." Kairi simply sticks her tongue out at me, but that doesn't stop her from appropriating my cake. I try some of hers, as well.

…

It's not cranberry. It's raspberry, and it's pretty good.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYSTRIDExX**

"The rain's let up." It would appear that Yuffie is correct. Good timing, too. I've finished my food, and it looks like Kairi is done as well.

"Well, we'd better pay and get a move on before it starts raining again." It takes us a few minutes to get Olette's attention, but we pay and get out pretty quickly.

"So… do you want to return to the park?" I raise my eyebrows in concern over her absurd request.

"Are you kidding? It's probably going to rain again!" As soon as I say this, a few raindrops start to fall.

"Huh… I guess you have a point…" she deliberates this for a few moments before nodding her head, "Well, okay, I'll let you go this time, but you owe me a picnic, all right?" I don't know who exactly she's talking to, but I give her my word regardless. "Good, now hurry up! I wanted to get some laps in at the track, and it would be nice to do it without the rain." I guess she doesn't notice the light drizzle.

"Isn't this supposed to be your free day?" Yuffie asks her.

"Well…" she suddenly seems reluctant to explain herself, "I need the practice. And I need to burn off that cake, anyway." She seems set on running, so maybe…

"Hey, I'll run with you." I offer, but she shakes her head emphatically.

"No, you should rest. It's important that you don't push yourself too hard." Kairi is clearly better at giving advice than taking it.

"Whatever." It's probably best not to get into an argument with Kairi.

I really doubt I'd be able to win.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

As we approach the girls' dormitories, the downpour increases to where Kairi finally notices it.

"Damn, stupid rain…" Kairi curses under her breath.

"It's gonna let up soon, so you can go running later, right?" I try reassuring her, but she simply lets out an amused snort.

"You think I'm not gonna run in the rain?"

"Er, you probably shouldn't. You'd catch a cold." Ever since I've started hanging out with these two, I've had to point out the obvious more than I'd like to.

"That's ridiculous! I can't get colds." Kairi tells me with a grin. Her carefree attitude gets to me, and I start laughing.

"Well, whatever you say." I wave her goodbye, but she calls my name so I turn back around.

"Don't worry, Sora! We can have our picnic on the roof tomorrow! See ya!" She runs off towards the running track. Yuffie gives me some kind of farewell nod before walking towards the dorms.

It's only until I get inside the boy's dorm that I realize how cold and wet I am. I'm about to unlock my door, when Roxas's voice interrupts me.

"Hey man, give me a hand, would you?" I turn around to where he's standing, only to have a stack of eight or nine books dropped into my arms. The sheer weight coupled with the surprise knocks me off balance and I slam my back into the wall so I don't spill everything.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." He remarks after getting his door open. "If you weren't around, I would've had to keep my door unlocked, and that's just begging for trouble. The perfect opportunity to set up an ambush, or maybe just plant a bomb if they don't want to get their hands too dirty." Roxas shakes his head, "Probably don't. Afraid they'll break a nail or something if they have to stab me. Women."

…

…

"Uh…" my mind is reeling from the verbal onslaught that my dorm mate has unleashed upon me, but I can't seem to comprehend it.

"So, where have you been? I knocked on your door, but you weren't there. I could've used some help getting these books from the library, you know."

"Uh… yeah, sorry. I was out with Kairi and Yu-" Roxas suddenly yells, cutting me off. He staggers back as if I'd shot his dog, you know, if he had a dog.

"What the hell did I say about hanging out with those demons? What the hell did you guys do?"

"Well, we went to the Paopu Pala-"

"What the hell man? Why the hell would you go there? No, no, no, no, man, you can't just let them move you places! Especially not the god damn Palace! It's the most dangerous place in this city! A stronghold that fronts the feminist conspiracy! They've got all their best agents there! I know man, they almost got me too!" His face grows more and more red with each passing sentence. "They'll stop at nothing to lull you into a false sense of security, and then **BAM**!" He slams his fist into the wall. "Wallet? Gone. Cards? Gone. Identity? Fucking. Gone. You can't just go there! You may have survived once, but you won't get lucky twice!"

…

"Sure, I won't go there ever again." I'm willing to lie a little to get back into my room. I'm still soaking wet.

"Good, good." Roxas seems to have calmed down a bit. "Sorry to come on so strong," At least he's aware of it, "but I know the danger too well to let you wander into the lion's den. You can't push things like that, man…"

"Yeah… well, uh… I need to do… some… uh… homework… so… bye." I hand him his mountain of books, which he takes before scurrying back into his room. I catch the word _CRYPTOGRAPHY_ emblazoned on the cover of the very top book before he slams the door shut.

What a weirdo.

It's only once I'm laying snug in my warm and dry bed that I notice that the rain has intensified outside. I really hope Kairi isn't running in this weather. She seemed so adamant about doing the run alone. I can't help but wonder if her leg's still bothering her. I try to remember whether or not I've seen her limping at all today, but I can't. I guess I was too caught up in enjoying the day, even if the rain did kind of dampen the mood.

As I think back over the events of today, I keep coming back to my running partner.

Her complete refusal to allow the rain to spoil her plans was incredibly cute.

But there was something else there, too.

Sort of an unwavering attitude when it comes to enjoying the day as it comes.

It's a quality that I really like.

…

Maybe I need to do a little of that myself.


	11. Hope

The sound of my alarm brings me out of a dream involving pirates and some other stuff I can't really remember.

I'm a little bleary-eyed, and it feels like it takes me longer than usual to get dressed and down to the track. A glance at my watch reveals that I was right, and I am in fact running a little late. The thing is…

Kairi isn't here.

That's odd. She should be here.

She definitely should be here.

I mean, I was late. She should be standing right there, reprimanding me for my lackluster enthusiasm or something.

I guess I wasn't the only one who had trouble getting up this morning. The thought crosses my mind that it never quite stopped raining yesterday. Did she go running regardless? That's probably the case. Kairi's a lot of things, and caution isn't one of them. She probably figured the rain wouldn't stop, so she wouldn't let me run with her. Either she didn't want me to catch a cold or she didn't want me pressuring her to go back inside.

Still, I would've gladly run with her, even if it was in the rain.

Even so, I can't help wanting to know where she is.

I start stretching for my warm up run, hoping that Kairi will show up with a grin and an excuse. But half way through my first lap, I'm forced to admit that she isn't coming. Furthermore, I have no idea where she actually is. Anxiety gnaws at me while at the same time I wonder just why I'm so worried over her. The run helped to take my mind off it for a little while, but now that my run is over, I'm back to worrying.

It's weird not having her here.

Downright unnerving.

A fat realization drops down, one that I probably didn't want to accept.

The only reason I've been running is to hang out with Kairi. Staying healthy might have been an added benefit, but not the purpose. It's one of those things that are completely obvious yet somehow, I never realized it.

Kairi is legitimately someone I enjoy being with.

As revelations go, it's hardly cataclysmic, but all the same, I can't help but feel a bit shocked.

When did this happen?

…

There's no point in thinking about it, but it just causes me to ponder another question.

Where is Kairi?

I guess I'll just ask Aerith when I stop in for an examination.

After a few more disheartening laps, I jog down the hallway to the nurse's office. I enter the room and we begin our normal transactions.

"Well, you seem to be in god shape, Sora." She comments cheerfully.

"Thanks, that's great to hear." I pull my shirt back on and stand to leave, as usual. But instead of leaving, I ask her a question.

"Do you know where Kairi is? She didn't show up this morning." While I try valiantly to conceal the anxiety in my voice, the nurse's expression suggests that I've failed miserably.

"You mean she didn't tell you?" Aerith takes a sip of her coffee, "She's sick in bed."

"Sick?"

"Yeah, she came to my office early this morning with a fever. To be honest, I'm surprised she made it here conscious. She was burning up when she arrived. I'm pretty sure she'd planned to let you know, but she asked me to tell you-" The nurse gives me a sheepish smile that seems at least partially sincere. "I told her I'd stop by the track to let you know in case she forgot… sorry about that. But, we don't have to tell Kairi I forgot, right?" I return the nurse's smile with a devious one of my own.

"Yeah, don't worry. This is pretty good blackmail material. I'll save it if I ever need a favor."

The nurse laughs.

"Well, I guess I deserve that. But, just so you know, I've got tons of blackmail on you that you're not even aware of. So don't push your luck, got it?" My flabbergasted expression earns another laugh from the nurse, "I'm just kidding, Sora… but seriously. Don't tell Kairi I forgot."

"Your secret is safe with me." I reassure her, "Is Kairi gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, definitely. It's just a high fever, but it was declining when I brought her back to her room."

"That's good, maybe I should visit her after class…" It takes me a second to realize I've spoken aloud. The nurse raises an eyebrow and gives me a searching glance for a moment.

"Hmm…" She looks at me suspiciously, "well, that might not be a bad idea. But no funny business, you got it? I know what meds you're on after all." I think that's a threat against my life, but her smile makes me think otherwise. Either way, I assure her that my intentions are chaste and exit her office.

Interesting that the nurse seems me as some sort of potential suitor for Kairi.

Even more interesting is how please that makes me feel.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

The lunch bell resonates across the school, but I fight the urge to head up to the roof. Kairi's still sick, so Yuffie would be the only one there. And I highly doubt we'd have any sort of scintillating conversation if she did. Chances are she'd prefer to be alone up there anyway. I don't want to accidentally ruin her runaway train of thought. The crowded cafeteria doesn't appealing at the moment, so I decide to give the library a visit. I need a new book to read anyway, having finished my other one yesterday before bed. Maybe I can find more by the same author.

The door to the library creaks as I push it ajar, embracing me with the musky smell of dust and paper. I peer around the front desk to see if I can find Olette, but no such luck. I really don't know where the fiction section is, so I decide to meander around randomly.

Walking briskly down a number of random hallways, I stumble across a familiar face sitting on a beanbag. Xion, in the exact pose as I saw her when we first met, was curled in a small ball against a book shelf with her nose buried in a familiar looking novel. She hasn't noticed me, and judging from her last volatile reaction, I decide to keep it that way. Creeping down the aisle, I get past without making my presence known.

A few minutes later, I find the mystery section. I was looking for fiction, but I guess this is good enough. This library is a maze, what with an entire Braille and audio book section. I backtrack my steps to get to the front desk, but I realize that there's still no librarian.

A bit irresponsible to be honest.

I really don't know how I could check these books out. Looking at the desk, I see a stack of sticky notes. I write a hasty note explaining the situation and leave my old book on the chair. As I leave the library, my stomach growls slightly, letting me know that I should have had something for lunch.

Oh well.

I'll just grab something from a vending machine on the way to class.

I should probably get something for Kairi too.

**XxLIFEEXPECTANCYxX**

Holy crap.

It seems like time has decided to slow down for the express purpose of annoying the hell out of me. Class felt like it dragged on for ages, but the bell eventually rang as I bolted out of the room. I've been spending the majority of the day fretting as unobtrusively as I could. Even though the nurse thinks that Kairi is perfectly okay, I want to see for myself. It doesn't take long to get to the girls' dormitory and make my way to Kairi's room.

Standing outside her door, I suddenly pause.

What if she's resting?

I'd hate to wake her up, especially if she's still feeling sick. Then again, if she sleeps all day it could throw off her sleeping schedule. But I suppose rest is still important…

I can't decide what to do, so I settle for standing outside the door looking like an idiot.

I move my arm to knock on the door, but a strangled feeling takes hold in my stomach.

Is this… nervousness?

I wasn't nervous about dropping by the other day, so why today? Granted, I still haven't really had time to figure out this newfound interest in Kairi's well-being. I don't have a lot of experience in the matter, of course, but certainly this seems to go beyond feelings of mere friendship.

But could I take that step? Could I even bring myself to risk what I have right now?

I mean, it's enough to be friends with her, isn't it? Either way, shouldn't I just open the door and see how she's doing? That's what friends do, they check up on their sick friends. That's what I'm here to do… right?

…

…

What if she's not dressed yet?

The image that flashes through my mind causes my heart to skip a beat, literally. I should probably not ever think about those thoughts ever again. Not if I want to avoid another heart attack.

…

I realize I'm still standing in the hallway looking like an idiot.

I clench my gut and knock on the door twice.

"Come in! The door is open!"

So it is. I open the door and step in, which about where my thought process comes to a grinding halt. Kairi is sitting up in bed, her hair tousled from a day spent asleep. Her gym shirt and shorts, obviously hastily pulled on before I came in, are creased and folded from less than proper storage. Her legs lay bare on the sheets.

I've never seen Kairi without prosthetics before. Yet, here she is, slender legs terminating in stumps just below the knees. But as odd as the sight is, I find myself captivated by her sleep addled face. She's watching my reaction closely out of her one open eye as she wipes sleep from the other. Her expression, far from embarrassed, is rather one of a surprisingly wide yawn. One perhaps appropriate from such a small mouth.

A grin, that for a brief moment seems almost flirtatious, tugs at the corner of her mouth as she takes the sight of me in. I can do nothing but remain in a state fluctuating between fear, confusion, unsettlement, and a bit of arousal. Kairi hastily sweeps her hair out of her eyes, fixing it back into pace before addressing me.

"You seem a bit on edge, Sora." A wave of laughter erupts from her and I find myself grinning and rubbing the back of my head ruefully.

"S-Sorry… I've just…"

Never seen someone so disheveled look so attractive.

Never seen you without your legs on.

Never wanted to kiss you on sight.

"Um, never mind…" Kairi giggles again and moves to sit up a little straighter. I'm caught up in the movements of her shirt, very nearly losing myself.

"I was wondering what your reaction would be. Aerith called and told me you were going to drop by, you see. And I know you haven't seen me… you know… without legs." I respond in a tone of attempted casual surprise.

"O-Oh, you don't have them on? I didn't notice." That's a bold-faced lie, they were the first things I noticed in the room. She doesn't seem to mind, however, and stick her tongue out at me a grips one of her pillows. Deftly using her small arms, she chucks it at me, narrowly hitting my face. It hits the wall and falls to the ground.

"Ass." I pick the pillow up to retaliate, but she's one step ahead of me.

"Here-mmph!" I start a battle cry but I'm cut off by a pillow hitting me straight in the nose. It catches me off guard and I stagger backwards. Kairi laughs triumphantly, but unfortunately for her, she only owns two pillows. I aim my imaginary sights on her face as I throw, missing both shots. One lands behind the bed and the other hits a nearby wall. The pillows are exchanged between us, but Kairi has far better aim than me. It was only a matter of time before I resorted to a suicidal charge. In the action of ripping the pillows from her grasp, there was a lot of struggling and wrestling.

So of course, we'd wind up in this sort of position.

And so I find myself staring down at her from my position on top of her.

She's grinning, eyes sparkling with amusement. Little specks of sweat are glittered across her forehead. Her chest is heaving up and down, sucking in air. The small bit of my brain that isn't enraptured by the sight and the smell of her observes that she must still be ill, because she has significantly more stamina than I do.

We stay in that awkward position for a little while.

I'm not sure how long, because everything seems to go fuzzy. Everything that isn't her, anyway. Her eyes meet mine, and deep inside them I catch a glimpse of something strange.

Fear?

Longing?

Desire?

Lust?

Hope?

"Er… Kairi?" She suddenly coughs, making me literally leap off of her. "S-Sorry, I shouldn't have…"

"It's fine, it's fine." She reassures me with a pat on the shoulder. "So, what brings you here?" She's still breathing hard, causing her voice to shake slightly. She sits up and pats the bed, inviting me to sit down.

"Well, I came to see how you were doing. Wasn't expecting to be assaulted though." This coy remark earns me a shove that nearly knocks me onto the ground. Her eyes sparkle again, making me notice how attractive her deep blue eyes are.

"Couldn't bear the thought of me laying deathly ill?" She tosses her hand onto her forehead and falls back onto her pillow. "Consumed with worry for the entire day, huh?" Kairi continues teasing me, but if only she knew how right she actually was.

"Well, I suppose I was a bit worried. After all, you didn't show up this morning… like a total wuss." She pouts, crossing her arms and sitting back up.

"It's not my fault!" She complains, "Aerith wouldn't let me…" I laugh at her expense, composing new witty remarks in my head.

"Sure she wouldn't, I completely believe you." Kairi sticks out her tongue at me. "So, you enjoy slacking off for the entire day?"

"Not really," She ignores my joke, "the phone woke me up pretty early."

"Phone?" I wonder aloud.

"Yeah, Riku called me to make sure I was feeling okay."

Riku.

Riku. Riku. Riku.

"Who's that?"

"Oh, he's the track team captain. Didn't I tell you about him at the Paopu Place?"

_"So, who's this other guy, huh? You got a secret lover or something?" Kairi laughs again, only I get the feeling it's from nervousness as much as anything else._

_"It's just the track team captain, Riku. He likes coming down here after practice sometimes. So if we have anything to discuss, I just tag along." _

"Hm… I see…" I mutter to myself. Well, it's good that she wasn't alone all day. Someone checked up on her. Although, I can't help but think that the person should've been me. "Well, that's good. He must keep his eyes on you, right?" She simply shrugs in response.

"It's his job. Part of being the team captain means that you know where your team members are when they're not in school." She yawns lightly, "But enough about me! What'd you do without little old me?"

"Well, I guess it was pretty uneventful. I went ahead and ran by myself for a little bit, talked with the nurse about how you were doing…"

I meander through the day's events, recalling the trip to the library and my lack of lunch, but none of it is particularly engrossing. It's only after a few minutes when I'm distracted by an arm finding its way across my waist. It seems that Kairi fell asleep while I was talking. I grab the blanket and drag it over to cover the two of us. But when I begin to get up, she rolls onto her side and throws her other arm around my shoulder, effectively trapping me.

"Hey." It's a shame to have to wake her up, but I have things to do. I gently shake her, but in response she only tightens her arm's grip on me and sighs a little. My resistance crumbles rather quickly as I decide to simply stay in bed with her. The feeling of her body breathing steadily is both calming and incredibly stimulating at the same time. My breathing can't decide if it wants to relax or speed up. Relaxation prevails as I put an arm around Kairi.

…

…

"I think I'm in love."


End file.
